3 OctOber 26 - NOvember 1, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | 3 MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ FLORIDA THREAT LEVEL FLORIDA MANATEES COULD RETURN TO ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST. BY ALEX DELUCA T he Florida manatee was one of the first animals to be listed as en- dangered under a landmark fed- eral law aimed at safeguarding species on the verge of extinction. Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the docile sea cows received the highest level of federal protection available. But after their population grew in the de- cades since, the United States Fish and Wild- life Service (FWS) unanimously voted to remove Florida manatees from the list in 2017 — reclassifying them as “threatened” over the objection of environmentalists. Now, following a historically deadly few years for the mammals, federal wildlife offi- cials will consider whether to again list them as endangered. On Wednesday, FWS announced that it would be taking an “in-depth” look into whether it should place Florida manatees back on the list. The review comes in re- sponse to a formal petition made by several environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Miami Waterkeeper, and Save the Manatee Club, who together is- sued a press release applauding the decision. “We are pleased that the Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the need to re-evaluate its ill-timed decision to downlist the Florida manatee,” said Patrick Rose, an aquatic biologist and executive director of Save the Manatee Club. In 2021, more than 1,100 manatees per- ished in Florida, marking the deadliest year on record for the mammals. The die-off of the iconic, thousand-pound sea cows was deemed an “unusual mortality event,” a rare designation that demands im- mediate attention under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. The spike in deaths has been attributed to the drastic loss of their primary food source, seagrass. Growth of the underwater plants has been stymied thanks to pollution and algae that has clogged up parts of the Indian River Lagoon, where herds of manatees gather during winter. Last year, in hopes of slowing down mana- tee fatalities, state and federal wildlife offi- cials took the unusual step of buying 55 tons of lettuce and hand-feeding it to the mam- mals along Florida’s eastern shore. Although manatee deaths have shown signs of slowing in the past year, experts have emphasized that the species remains in peril. “There are some real positives that we’re looking at,” Rose, who has spent nearly five decades working with manatees, previously told New Times. “But those positives are very small in comparison to the high risks that these manatees are facing.” When the FWS downlisted West Indian manatees, which include the Florida manatee subspecies, from “endangered” to “threat- ened” in 2017, federal officials assured the public that strict protections would remain in place for the animals. Additionally, under state law, it remained illegal to feed, disturb, or harass manatees. The petitioning environmental groups nonetheless maintain that listing manatees as “endangered” is essential not only to ensure regulatory safeguards are strong, but to pro- tect against erosion of manatee-conservation funding and public awareness of just how fragile the local mana- tee population is. “Facing these dire circumstances, it is im- perative that the West Indian manatee, Flor- ida manatee, and Antillean manatee are afforded the maximum protective effect of the Endangered Species Act that only listing as ‘endangered’ can provide,” the groups wrote in their petition. In the press release, the environmental groups called FWS’s decision “the first proce- dural step toward providing much greater protections for the imperiled species.” The next steps, according to the release, are to conduct a thorough review “of the best available science” before deciding whether to reclassify the species. A final decision is due on November 21. “I applaud the Fish and Wildlife Service for taking the next step toward increased safeguards,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida- based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Manatees need every ounce of protection they can get.” | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Florida’s beloved manatee could soon return to the federal Endangered Species list. Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region/Flickr ▼ PLANTATION NIGHTMARE TO REMEMBER MAN TORTURED, WATERBOARDED BY KIDNAPPERS AT A PLANTATION AIRBNB. BY ALEX DELUCA T hree South Florida men are facing federal kidnapping charges after they allegedly abducted the wrong man and proceeded to waterboard him inside a local Airbnb. Federal prosecutors claim that on the eve- ning of October 13, brothers Jeffry and Jona- than Arista and Raymond Gomez snatched the man as he was leaving his Fort Lauderdale home. The trio forced him into a white Dodge Charger with sham police lights, blindfolded him, and transported him to a rental unit in Plantation to shake him down for cash they claimed to be owed, according to the arrest af- fidavit. One of the kidnappers was disguised as a police officer, wearing a gold badge and a tactical vest, prosecutors say. Shortly after arriving at the Airbnb, the kid- nappers realized they’d mistakenly kidnapped their intended target’s coworker, the affidavit states. Rather than freeing the man, the affidavit alleges, the trio tor- tured him by pointing guns at his head, placing a power drill to his skin, and threatening to kill him. They allegedly waterboarded him, covering his face with “four or five black masks,” then pouring buck- etfuls of water on him in the Airb- nb’s bathroom. “The victim thought he was go- ing to drown,” the affidavit states. Both Arista siblings and Gomez have been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. Each faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Upon learning that their intended target was at a business in Pompano Beach, Gomez drove the group there in a black Porsche and directed the victim to lure the man out so they could “ar- range to kidnap him instead,” prosecutors say. NBC6 identified the business as the Booby Trap, a popular Pompano Beach strip club where the intended target worked. Around 2 a.m. on October 14, police rushed to the business in response to a “bomb threat,” ac- cording to the affidavit. Upon arrival, they dis- covered that the victim had called in the threat in hopes of getting a rapid response. According to the affidavit, while communi- cating with an officer, the victim noticed Jeffry Arista in the distance “appearing to record him with a cell phone.” He told the police and Jeffry Arista was swiftly taken into custody. Gomez fled the scene in the Porsche before ultimately crashing into a nearby car, the affidavit states. Jonathan Arista was spotted walking away from the car before police caught up with him. Gomez allegedly hid behind a bush, then made his way toward a bus station, eluding officers for sev- eral hours. After police apprehended him, he allegedly told investigators that he and the Arista brothers de- vised the kidnapping scheme to collect a debt for another individual, whose identity Gomez claimed not to know. “Gomez admitted that, after kidnapping the victim at gunpoint and bringing him to the resi- dence, he and the Arista brothers realized that they had kidnapped the wrong person,” the affi- davit states. The Aristas had their initial appearances in federal court yesterday. [email protected] “MANATEES NEED EVERY OUNCE OF PROTECTION THEY CAN GET.” Broward Sheriff’s Office photo Jonathan (left) and Jeffry Arista are charged with a bungled kidnapping scheme.
