Miami's U.S. attorney said those who brought the family of Cuba-born pitcher Jose Contreras to South Florida may be prosecuted for smuggling.

BY LUISA YANEZ AND LISA ARTHUR

Boaters who took the family of a New York Yankees pitcher from Cuba to South Florida could face prosecution -- despite their high profile passengers, U.S. Attorney Marcos Jiménez said Wednesday.

''We prosecute these cases without regard to nationality or the individuals who are being smuggled into this country,'' Jiménez said, speaking from Washington, D.C., where he was attending a conference.

Jiménez, whose office has cracked down on those who smuggle human cargo into South Florida, stressed that José Contreras' celebrity status would have no effect on any decision to move forward on the case.

''It's a crime,'' he said.

BACK OFF LABEL

But other federal authorities in Miami seemed to back away from labeling the two boaters ''smugglers.'' The boaters initially caught the eye of law enforcement by trying to run away from the group of migrants as they were being rounded up on Big Pine Key early Monday.

It remained unclear Wednesday night if the unidentified men were still in federal custody or had been released.

Carlos Castillo, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Miami, declined to comment on the case. But he said the men had not been criminally charged.

Ana Santiago, spokeswoman for Citizen and Immigration Services, said there is an ongoing investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The high seas drama involving Contreras' wife, two daughters, five other relatives and 11 others ended at dawn in some mangroves.

MAKE IT TO SHORE

The ''go-fast'' boat they were on managed to outrun a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and other government boats to land. Since the migrants made it to shore, they became eligible to stay in the United States. In the past two weeks, some 60 Cuban migrants have made it to South Florida shores, authorities said.

The public reunion of the ball player and his family is only one of countless stories of family's separated by Cuban history, said Ramón Saúl Sánchez, president of Democracy Movement.

''When you see a family reunite, whether the family of a celebrity or the family of a peasant or fisherman, it's like a feast in our hearts,'' said Sánchez, who left Cuba as a child. The publicity surrounding Contreras and his reunited family has its benefits, too, he said.

''As this became national and international news, people around the world learn about these families that are separated and what the reasons and dimensions are,'' he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it tried to stop the boat carrying Contreras' wife, Miriam Murillo Flores, and others after they first spotted it about 15 miles southwest of Key West. ''We have tactics we use to stop boats that try to evade us,'' said Petty Officer Sandra Bartlett.

Authorities took the migrants to the Marathon Coast Guard station and then transported them to Krome. They were released Tuesday. José Contreras later reunited with his family at a South Beach Hotel. The other passengers were also released to family.

DEATHS PROSECUTED

In the past, smugglers whose voyages ended in deaths have been prosecuted.

In July 2002, two men involved in one of the deadliest smuggling runs out of Cuba -- a journey that killed five -- were sentenced to prison after they pleaded guilty.

U.S. District Judge Shelby Highsmith sentenced Osvaldo Fernandez Marrero, who lost his wife and two young daughters on the ill-fated voyage, to two years and nine months in prison. Roberto Montero Dominguez, who was paid $8,000 to make the trip, received a four year, nine month term.

In November 2002, a Cuban-American smuggler who left a woman to die on a Bahamian spit of sand was sentenced to life plus five years -- the most severe sentence ever handed out to a human smuggler in South Florida.

Jorge Aleman, a Miami man, was charged with smuggling more than 100 Cuban nationals in five separate voyages. But the sentence was based largely on the Jan. 14, 2001, trip that resulted in the death of the 48-year-old woman.

Staff writers Jay Weaver and Tere Figueras contributed to this report.