Boat used to smuggle migrants to Florida Keys was stolen from Cuba, owners say

David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Sep 8, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MIAMI — A boat that was used to smuggle 10 migrants to the Florida Keys last week was stolen from Cuban fishermen who say they are desperate to get the vessel back because they need it to make a living, the owners said.

The small wooden boat was abandoned Thursday after dropping off the migrants in Tavernier in the Upper Keys. The captain and his nine passengers, including a 10-year-old boy, spent the night in the mangroves before going to the Winn Dixie shopping center across U.S. 1 the next day.

When they saw a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy, they fled, according to the arrest report for the operator of the boat. Deputies along with Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agents launched a search of the area for the migrants.

Around 2:30 p.m., a deputy and Border Patrol agent pulled over a silver Lexus at mile marker 101.5 on U.S. 1 in Key Largo that had four of the people inside, per the arrest report. It’s not clear if the others have been caught. The sheriff’s office referred that question to the Border Patrol, which did not immediately respond to the Herald.

Deputies arrested 38-year-old Jesus Herrera Belett, whose latest identification says he lives in Key West, and 56-year-old Jesus Medina Esquijarosa, of Miami. Herrera Belett faces nine human smuggling counts; Esquijarosa faces a count of accessory to human smuggling. They are being charged by state prosecutors because the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to take the case, Monroe Sheriff Rick Ramsay added.

Deputies say Esquijarosa was driving the Lexus.

‘This boat is our livelihood’

Over the weekend, the wife of the owner of the boat contacted the Miami Herald asking for help locating the vessel.

She said Herrera Belett stole it from Cardenas City in the Matanzas province last Monday, and he has stolen boats from the area in the past.

“That boat is our livelihood,” said the woman, whom the Herald is not identifying to protect her identity. “It’s our most important source of income, and not only ours. Many families here depend on that boat to survive.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has the boat, Ramsay said. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations agents found it floating about a mile offshore of Rock Harbor, according to the sheriff’s office’s report.

As for getting it back to Cuba, that will be a difficult mission. Ramsay suggested the owners should report it stolen to Cuban authorities and send a copy of that report to the U.S. State Department and Border Patrol.

An FWC spokeperson said she was also looking into the process of returning the vessel.

In his arrest report, Herrera Belett told detectives that he owns the boat. He said he traveled in the vessel with his wife and child, along with seven others he picked up at a place called the Cementario de los Barcos. Their first stop was an abandoned lighthouse at Faro Viejo in the Bahamas, before making their way to the Keys, according to the report.

Herrera Belett told detectives that Esquijarosa is his niece’s husband, who agreed to take the migrants to his home in Miami, according to the report.

Herrera Belett also told detectives that he has lived in the U.S. before. He said he used another fishing boat, the Elvira, to ferry him and three others across the Florida Straits in 2022. He said he found work in Detroit, Michigan, and made enough money to buy a Scarab boat, which he used to return to Cuba in March 2023, according to his arrest report.

When he entered Cuban waters, however, he was arrested by the Cuban Border Guard and locked up for a year, he told detectives.

Both Herrera Belett and Esquijarosa remained in Monroe County jail on Monday. Herrera Belett’s bond is $700,000; Esquijarosa is being held on $225,000.

Information on their legal representation was not immediately available.

_____