Mexican sailor returns home to festivities after 14 months in Houthi rebel captivity

MISANTLA, Mexico — Escorted by locals on bicycles and in cars that awaited his arrival outside his hometown in Mexico, Arturo Zacarías Meza returned home days after Houthi rebels in Yemen released him and his fellow crew members following more than a year in captivity.

In Misantla, a small town in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz with tile-roofed buildings facing a lush central square, a Norteño band belted out Zacarías' favorite song on Friday and neighbors prepared the carnitas – Mexican pulled confit pork – that the 32-year-old merchant marine had most missed.

''A mother's prayer will never fail,'' Zacarías said upon his return home, where residents had been lighting candles for his safe release since November 2023.

On Nov. 19, 2023, Zacarías and much of the rest of the crew of the Galaxy Leader were resting in their quarters when Houthi rebels descended from a helicopter onto the ship transiting the Red Sea.

''Immediately the captain gave the order that we should surrender and not do anything,'' Zacarías said. ''And thanks to that we're alive, because if we had done something more they would have given the order to shoot.''

The rebels told them in broken English that they weren't pirates and weren't looking for money, he said. They said they wanted to stop the war in Gaza.

The Houthis said they hijacked the Galaxy Leader over its connection to Israel. The attack launched the rebels' campaign targeting ships in international waters in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects them.

The Bahamas-flagged vessel is affiliated with an Israeli billionaire, Abraham ''Rami'' Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.

In addition to Mexico, the 25-member crew hailed from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

They were kept aboard the ship until the last three months when they were moved to a safe house. The days aboard the ship felt endless. Zacarías fell into a habit of sleeping 12 hours a day. Eventually, the crew won the trust of their captors and were permitted 30 minutes once a week to call their families. He said they were never hit or abused.

Their release this week was brokered by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that's long been an interlocutor with the Houthis.

Zacarías said Friday that Houthi leaders had praised the crew as heroes for Palestinians and an important piece of the still fresh ceasefire with Israel. Wearing a shirt carrying the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint, Zacarías expressed gratitude for his safe release, saying that God would soon grant them peace.