Boat from Cuba capsized during smuggling effort

By Ray Sánchez
Havana Bureau

HAVANA, Cuba

Cuban reggaeton artist Elvis Manuel and two associates were lured on an ill-fated voyage with the promise of big bucks, according to friends and relatives of the young star.

But the smuggling venture to deliver the 18-year-old singer, who is presumed missing at sea, and other Cuban migrants to the shores of South Florida capsized in rough seas just 50 miles from Key West, authorities said.

Alejandro "DJ Jerry" Rodriguez Lopez, a 19-year-old performer who was among the 14 people who survived the journey, said that he, Elvis Manuel and another friend were assured millions of dollars if they left Cuba immediately.

Rodriguez, and Elvis Manuel's mother, Irioska Maria Nodarse, identified the producers as Eric Reyes, 32, and Lester Delgado, 23, of Millenium Records Entertainment Corp. in Miami.

In a telephone interview late Tuesday, Delgado denied participating in or financing the smuggling operation. He said the allegations of Rodriguez and Irioska Nodarse were false.

"This is all being manipulated by the Cuban government," he said. "I can't say more but anything they say in Cuba you can't be sure is true. I know it because I lived there. I don't know what pressure they were put under. I was born in Cuba and I know what it means to not have freedom of expression."

Delgado said he had proof to contradict the allegations of Nodarse and Rodriguez.

"I'm not going to reveal them because I knew Elvis Manuel is still alive," he said. "Obviously we're the only ones who have shown face in this whole affair… No family members have stepped forth."

Reyes told the Associated Press that he signed a contract to promote Elvis Manuel in Latin America but also denied any involvement in the failed smuggling operation. He said he had hired a private plane to search for Elvis Manuel on Tuesday, more than a week after the young singer and four other migrants were lost at sea after their boat capsized in bad weather.

"These were all adults and they are responsible for their own choices," Reyes told the Associated Press. "We're serious music members of the music industry, not travel agents or traffickers."

The promoter said Elvis Manuel initiated contact with him by Internet and he signed the young artist three months ago. Millenium was to represent Elvis Manuel once he got to Mexico, where he was to tour, Reyes said.

Nodarse, Rodriguez and a dozen other migrants were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and returned to Cuba Saturday. Her son and four others who were on the boat are presumed missing at sea.

Rodriguez said he and his friends were intrigued by fame and fortune.

"We were told we would be millionaires in two months," Rodriguez said. "They said we would be signed for about $25,000 each on arrival. I thought I would send my father $20,000 so he could build a palace in Cuba. That kind of money lasts forever here."

Elvis Manuel's mother, who also survived the voyage, said her son and his friends were "brainwashed" by tales of success across the Florida Straits. Nodarse, who managed her son's career, decided to make the journey with him.

"They filled his head with lies and promises," she said.

In Miami, Elvis Manuel's aunt, Mirtha Maria Nodarse, said she met the two young producers for the first time after her nephew disappeared at sea last week.

"I can tell you they're doing all they can," she said in a telephone interview. "I don't know if they went to Cuba with promises of fame. I met them after this happened. I don't know who they are."

The Border Patrol Saturday took two suspected smugglers into custody in connection with the capsized vessel that carried Elvis Manuel, a supervisory border patrol agent, Lazaro Guzman, confirmed. Both men are Cuban nationals who had been paroled into the United States within the past year, and their parole status was being revoked, Guzman said. He had no information about the suspects' ages or identities.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are now handling the investigation into the pair, Guzman said. He said the search for Manuel continues and that Border Patrol agents have stepped up efforts at local marinas to identify and apprehend smugglers, who now charge an average of $10,000 per person.

"They only think about these people as cargo," Guzman said. "Now we have a person missing at sea."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials could not be reached, despite several attempts by telephone.

Staff Writer Tal Abbady contributed to this report from Fort Lauderdale. Ray Sánchez can be reached at rlsanchez@sun-sentinel.com.