Cruise passenger jumps overboard near San Juan amid casino debt probe

A passenger aboard Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas plunged into the sea as the ship returned to the Port of San Juan on Sunday, apparently attempting to evade more than $16,000 in gambling debts, authorities said. Security footage shows the man being helped to shore by people on jet skis shortly after 9 a.m., and he was later detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building, according to a criminal complaint and local reports.

Federal agents identified the passenger as Jey Gonzalez Diaz, though he reportedly carried several identity documents under different names. Investigators recovered two mobile phones, five identification documents and a bag containing about $14,600 in U.S. currency, the complaint says. Royal Caribbean told investigators the passenger owed $16,710.24, a debt the cruise line said was almost exclusively tied to casino and gaming expenses. Some filings and news reports cited lower figures for the gambling losses, and officials said amounts in documents varied.

According to the complaint, Gonzalez Diaz told officers in Spanish that he jumped from the ship because he did not want to report the currency he was...