A former US Coast Guard veteran celebrating his 50th birthday was subjected to a terrifying ordeal when armed authorities stormed his cruise ship cabin and arrested him in a case of mistaken identity.
A Terrifying Birthday Wake-Up Call
Jose “Joey” Martinez and his partner Tamara “Tammy” Verhas from Arizona were in their cabin on the Carnival Horizon on Monday 5 January. The couple was enjoying the final morning of an eight-day southern Caribbean sailing, which had visited the Dominican Republic and the Antilles archipelago.
Just before 7am, as the ship docked in Miami, Florida, their cabin door was suddenly forced open. "Three giant men wearing black, armed, (were) pointing flashlights at us, shouting," Ms Verhas recounted to USA Today. The agents, from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), immediately handcuffed Mr Martinez.
Traumatic Detention and Phone Seizure
As Ms Verhas began filming the incident, a female agent entered the room. "She jumped on top of me in the bed to try and snatch my phone, which she did eventually snatch," Verhas stated. The authorities then took Mr Martinez and her phone away for a period of 90 minutes.
The veteran was placed in a holding cell at the Port of Miami while officers checked his details. It was only then that they discovered their grave error. They were actually looking for a different individual with the same name, who had an outstanding warrant for arrest.
No Apology and Lasting Trauma
Mr Martinez was cleared and led back to the ship but received no apology for the traumatic event. "If it is just based off of my name, what other due diligence did they do?" he asked Arizona radio station KTAR. He emphasised his clean record, veteran status, and prior FBI clearance.
The couple expressed deep distress over the incident, stating they could not stop crying for the rest of the day. "The fact that what happened to me shows this could happen to anybody," Mr Martinez told ABC15, describing the experience as "dehumanising" and unnecessary.
Carnival Cruise Line distanced itself from the event, stating it was "a law enforcement matter" and that the company was not involved in the investigation. Neither CBP nor Carnival has apologised to the couple following the wrongful arrest.
