Rescued Gulf of Mexico Captains Reunite with Families

PUERTO JUÁREZ, Quintana Roo — After eight days adrift, Jorge Aragón and Ricardo Argáez, the two captains who were stranded aboard the vessel Chuleta and later rescued in the Gulf of Mexico, arrived this Thursday at the naval base of the Mexican Navy in Puerto Juárez, Quintana Roo. Upon their arrival, they were received by family members with hugs, smiles, and tears of happiness.

The two men had set sail from Florida on August 20, bound for the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, and were left adrift for five days until they were rescued by a Polish vessel.

The Search Operation

Upon their arrival at the port, the captains had a telephone link with Governor Mara Lezama during the program La Voz del Pueblo. She informed them that with the solidarity of the people of Quintana Roo, the support of the Navy, and private individuals, a search operation was initiated from the moment it was known that communication with them had been lost.

The story began on August 24, when the families and friends of the two Cozumel-based captains reported the disappearance of the vessel that had departed from Key West, Florida, United States, four days earlier. Its destination was Isla Mujeres, with an expected arrival on August 22 at 4:00 p.m.

Through social media, they called on anyone traveling the Florida-Cancún route to report any sightings to the nearest Port Captaincy. They reported that contact with Ricardo and Jorge had been lost since Wednesday, August 20, and after 48 hours, authorities initiated their search.

During those days, the captains' families remained active, pleading for support to locate them, while personnel from the Secretariat of the Navy and the Fifth Naval Region monitored the situation.

The Rescue

After five days of uncertainty, Argáez and Aragón were located alive in the Gulf of Mexico. A cargo ship flying the Polish flag spotted the mariners and notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which deployed an operation for their rescue.

Through a video, and visibly moved by their rescue, the sailors narrated that they were supplied with water and provisions while their transfer and handover to Mexican authorities was finalized.

The captains were located approximately 20 miles from Isla Mujeres when their vessel ran out of fuel. Strong currents dragged them out to sea for more than 220 miles into international waters, where they remained awaiting help.

The case generated significant mobilization on social media and within the nautical community of Quintana Roo, which had been issuing alerts for days to locate the missing vessel on the Florida-Cancún route.