A Caribbean birthday cruise with Carnival Cruise Line ended in distress for a US Coast Guard veteran after he was wrongly detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while the ship was docked in Miami.
Jose Martinez, a US citizen from Phoenix, Arizona, had been sailing with his wife, Tamara Verhas, and a group of friends to celebrate his birthday alongside that of a close friend. The voyage concluded in Miami, Florida, on the morning of 5th January 2026, when passengers were preparing to disembark.
While the exact ship has not been confirmed, three Carnival vessels were in port that morning, Carnival Conquest, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Sunrise.
What should have been a routine end to the cruise instead became a traumatic experience following what appears to have been a case of mistaken identity during a law enforcement operation.
ICE Agents Enter Stateroom At Dawn
According to Martinez, the incident unfolded at around 6:45 am as he and his wife were asleep in their stateroom. ICE agents suddenly forced their way inside without warning.
“[The door] burst open. Three men came in with flashlights shining them in our faces and giving us commands,” Martinez told 12 News.
He said agents ordered him out of bed, placed him against a wall and handcuffed him, leaving him confused and frightened.
“They ordered me out of bed and put me against the wall, and handcuffed me. I had no idea what was going on. I was asking what this was about; it was a flurry of just confusion,” he said.
Martinez told ABC 15 Arizona that he attempted to show identification proving his citizenship, but said his explanations were ignored. His wife also tried to record the encounter, but her phone was confiscated. When it was returned, the video footage had been deleted.
He was escorted off the ship and taken to a holding cell at PortMiami, where he was fingerprinted and questioned for around an hour and a half before being released.
Mistaken Identity At The Root
Martinez later learned that he had been mistaken for another individual with the same name who allegedly has multiple outstanding arrest warrants.
The veteran told ABC 15 Arizona that he has experienced confusion with authorities in the past due to his common Hispanic name, but said nothing had ever escalated to this level.
“From what I understand, all of this was based off my first and last name, a very common Hispanic name. They thought I was someone who had warrants for drug trafficking or some sort of offender,” Martinez said.
After nearly two hours, he was allowed to return to the cruise terminal. Martinez claims he never received an apology from authorities for the wrongful detention.
At the time of writing, US Customs and Border Protection have not issued a public comment on the incident.
Carnival And Customs Procedures
As part of standard arrival procedures, passenger manifests are reviewed by US authorities ahead of disembarkation. These documents include passenger names, dates of birth and citizenship information.
In this case, ICE agents are believed to have flagged Martinez during that process and then coordinated with the ship’s security team to access the stateroom. Carnival Cruise Line confirmed it cooperated with law enforcement.
“We are aware that U.S. Customs and Border Protection took a guest into custody as a person of interest. As this is a law-enforcement matter, we defer all further questions to the appropriate authorities,” the cruise line said in a statement.
It remains unclear whether Carnival has since contacted Martinez or his wife following the ordeal, which the couple say has left them shaken after what was meant to be a celebratory cruise.
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