Cuba weighs using force to end hijacking saga

? Cuban authorities warned Thursday that force may be needed against armed hijackers who have seized a ferry boat with nearly 50 people on board in a bid to reach U.S. shores.

After a 30-mile chase Wednesday into international waters, the ferry was escorted back to the Cuban port of Mariel, just west of Havana. Cuban officials said the men, who were armed with knives and pistols, have threaten passengers and demanded enough fuel to reach the United States.

“Force will be used if the hostages’ situation becomes critical,” said a statement read on state television at midday.

President Fidel Castro arrived in the late morning Thursday at Mariel and was still in the area late in the afternoon when an ambulance was seen speeding away, international journalists said.

Shortly thereafter, three black Mercedes Benz sedans — the same configuration that Castro always travels in — left. They were followed by at least seven other ambulances and a military convoy of soldiers and special police.

There was no information about what was transpiring between government negotiators and the hijackers.

A statement read on state television at midday said “force will be used if the hostages’ situation becomes critical.”

Hijackers agreed to release only three of the estimated 50 passengers who were aboard the boat when it was commandeered from Havana Bay, the government said.

Cuban special troops leave the area where a boat was hijacked west of Havana. Cuban authorities negotiated Thursday with armed men to release a hijacked ferry and passengers after the boat returned from the high seas in search of enough fuel to reach U.S. shores.

“To all other requests they have responded only with their demands for fuel,” the statement said.

The seizing of the vessel came a day after a Cuban passenger plane was hijacked to Key West, Fla., by a man who allegedly threatened to blow up the aircraft with two grenades that later turned out to be fake. Another Cuban plane was hijacked to Key West less than two weeks ago.

The hijackings coincide with a crackdown on dissent in Cuba and rising tensions with the United States. Trials began Thursday for the first of 80 dissidents charged with conspiring with U.S. officials.

In the past, Cubans have taken advantage of periods of U.S.-Cuban friction to try to flee the island.