Tulum, Q.R. — The SSC of Tulum says social media reports of Cuban rafters landing on the shores of Tulum are false. On Friday, several local media outlets reposted videos of two long boats off the coast of Tulum. In their posts, they reported Cubans had made landfall on the municipality’s beach.
The claims were made Friday morning by security guards at a beachside hotel in the municipality. Sergio Ven Ángel Canto, the General Director of Tulum Civil Protection, confirmed the information to be false. He said after hearing the “news”, authorities located and questioned the boaters.
They are guests at a local hotel and are in the area practicing for an upcoming water event next weekend in Akumal. The two rafting boats were spotted around 7:00 a.m. off Tulum shores and reported by the security guards to have been Cuban rafters making landfall.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the Secretaría de Seguridad Pública y Protección Ciudadana de Tulum confirmed the information to be false. The SSC said “regarding the videos circulating on social media, which indicates the alleged arrival of Cuban rafters on the shores of Tulum, the Public Security and Citizen Protection Secretariat reports the following:
“After learning of the events, following instructions from the Mayor, search and outreach efforts were initiated to locate the individuals in question and provide them with the appropriate support.
“As a result of the investigation, contact was made with private security personnel from the Kanan company, who reported that they were guests of the Ahau Hotel. The guests had been practicing sports since 7:00 a.m. as part of their preparation for a competition to be held next Sunday in Akumal.”
The boaters were seen practicing rowing in rough waters due to current unstable weather. Civil Protection head Sergio Ven Ángel Canto said they were advised to remove their boats given the bad weather. “They were given recommendations to withdraw their boats due to the risk posed by the current weather,” he said.
