Cozumel Residents Fear Tourist Backlash After Arrest of O.C. Resident

Some residents of this world-renowned diving island worry that the arrest of an Orange County man on weapons charges could tarnish one of the jewels in the crown of Mexico’s vital tourism industry.

Townspeople discuss the arrest of ship captain Scott McClung of Laguna Beach heatedly and follow accounts in local newspapers and broadcast reports, which note that the case is attracting international attention.

“Without knowing the law and just using my common sense, I am surprised at the actions the prosecutor took,” said Raymundo Yanez, president of the Cozumel Restaurant Assn.

“The risk we run is to appear to the world like a country of tribes, not a country of institutions,” Yanez said on the balcony of his restaurant overlooking Cozumel harbor--with a view embracing McClung’s 145-foot ship, the Rapture, anchored in the bay.

On Friday, lawyers for McClung sought to delay his transfer from a private clinic here to a jail in Cancun. McClung, who suffers from a stress-related illness, collapsed in the court Wednesday night when a judge ruled he must stand trial on the charge of transporting arms clandestinely into Mexico.

McClung, taped up with heart monitors and struggling to keep his eyes open, described himself Friday as “still weak.” But he said he is grateful for the support of his family and crew, who maintained a vigil outside his room alongside the police guards.

“It’s incredible how much support they have given me,” he said. “It has made a huge difference.”

In Orange County, friends and associates of McClung are attempting to pressure the Mexican government to bring the case to a quick solution by making calls to officials there and seeking help from U.S. political leaders. Members of Mariners South Coast Church, where McClung attends, held a prayer vigil Friday night.

The judge dropped charges Wednesday against McClung’s father, 71-year-old Eugene, and first mate Noah Bailey of Dana Point, and set them free after nine days in jail with Scott McClung. Eugene McClung, his wife, Mozelle, and other family members had been aboard for the ship’s maiden voyage from Florida to Newport Beach via the Panama Canal when the ship made an emergency repair stop in Cozumel on Aug. 10, setting off the nightmarish chain of events resulting in Scott McClung’s indictment and physical collapse.

The family has said the ship carried weapons for protection against pirates in the Caribbean, and that the crew declared the guns as soon as the vessel pulled into Cozumel. The prosecution says no such declaration was made. If convicted, McClung could be imprisoned for five to 30 years.

The nature of the suspects in the case--a wealthy, elderly Californian with a brand-new $4.5-million ship designed for religious mission cruises and marine biology research trips for up to 150 young people--was a main motive for residents who questioned the handling of the matter.

But Cozumel Chamber of Commerce President Eduardo Novelo said: “On the contrary, instead of damaging Cozumel, this will make people feel more secure. Any tourist who leaves home is concerned for his security. What Cozumel has is its reputation as the safest island in the Caribbean.”

“It is better to have arrested a couple of Americans who introduce arms into Mexico than put into danger thousands of tourists who could be threatened by those arms,” said Novelo, who, like others, stressed that he didn’t know the details of the case and was speaking about principles.

“We don’t want to become a paradise for narcos or arms traffickers,” he added. “Imagine if we didn’t have careful searches of arriving ships and enforcement of our laws? What would the U.S. say?”

But others disagreed.

“The people here are surprised and annoyed,” said one town employee, who declined to give her name. “They don’t believe that these people could have come here with other intentions.”

The chamber’s figures show just how crucial tourism is to the nearly 70,000 residents of the island, which is recognized as one of the finest diving destinations in the world, with water so clear you can see 200 feet down, and coral reefs of exquisite beauty.

More than 1.6 million people visit Cozumel annually aboard the luxury cruise ships that dock here each day, mainly en route from Miami to the Virgin Islands. These visitors pack into the island’s 200 registered restaurants, its T-shirt and trinket shops clustered around the main square and otherwise feed the tourist turnover of more than $310 million last year.

In addition to the 800 cruise ships that visit each year, the island receives another 300,000 visitors by air who sleep in 59 hotels, from basic to five-star quality.

“The whole island lives from tourism,” Novelo said. “In the last 10 years, this has become a super-strategic point for ships in the Caribbean.”

The McClungs have stridently raised the specter of damage to tourism as they have stepped up their campaign for U.S. pressure on their son’s behalf.

Eugene McClung’s first angry outburst upon his son’s indictment on the weapons charge Wednesday night was, “I think it’s going to be bad for the tourist trade here, and what seems to talk down here is dollars.”

Clara Angulo Lopez, head of the state tourism office in Cozumel, said she’d just returned from a vacation and didn’t know details of the case, but she noted, “We have a zero percent crime rate here, we are very, very secure. People from here even get nervous going to Cancun for fear of an assault. Cozumel is a small village.”

The resort began developing in the 1950s, when divers began visiting the spectacular coral reefs.

Restaurateur Yanez said the town’s leaders were trying to ensure rational development and avoid the cheapening of the island, as has happened to other tourist destinations such as Acapulco and even Cancun.

“It is costing us quite an effort to attract people to this island, to offer quality food and accommodation. However much publicity we buy, a time bomb like this, in a country that so desperately needs tourism, is very damaging.”

Dr. Ricardo Segovia, chief of surgery at the clinic where McClung was being treated, said, “The most prudent thing is to try to support Scott.

“What I want personally is that the case be clarified for everyone’s benefit. From a tourist point of view, it will give us bad propaganda as well.”

Segovia was in contact with the prosecutor’s office about when McClung could be transferred to the mainland prison, and said further tests would be conducted today before any decision would be made.