Men continue to speak up about the six Aqua Quest International crew members from the U.S. who have been held in a Puerto Lempira, Honduras, prison since May 5.

Devon Butler, Nick Cook, Kelly Garrett, Steve Matanich, Michael Mayne and Robert Mayne, president of Aqua Quest International, were detained after Honduran Navy members and police raided their 65-foot boat and found a an AK-47 rifle (which is illegal in the country), two handguns and two shotguns, according to published reports by local police, Fox News Latino reported. On May 13, a judge ordered them to say in custody "indefinitely," according to Fox News Latino, and they face up to 10 years, according to The New York Times.

Michael McCabe, a 45-year-old filmmaker, was on board filming the crew when the members were taken. He was held on the ship for a week but was eventually released.

"It just started so slowly and gradually just got worse," he said to Fox News Latino.

According to McCabe, the crew had the weapons to protect their U.S. vessel, a rare sight in Honduran waters. The crew also had a security team in Honduras.

"Their concern was traveling from Florida to the Caribbean through Honduras," McCabe said. "The area has a lot of narcotics trade. There's piracy. The captain has dealt with piracy before."

According to Robert, who was acting as captain, all regulations were followed, and the weapons were approved by port officials. Local police, on the other hand, disagree and say they arrested the men for possession of illegal arms. El Heraldo, a Honduran newspaper, reported that the crew members "carried five weapons, one of which is prohibited, and they did not have a permit to carry weapons in Honduran territory."

"Word got around the town that there are 'gringos' who have guns," McCabe said. "It seemed the police felt they had to do something."

According to the Tarpon Springs, Florida-based company, the crew was helping lobster divers with aid workers and officials in the town of Ahuas, whose main income comes from lobsters. Lobster divers reportedly face big risks as they dive as deep as 150 feet into the water.

"They have been kidnapped by the system," Rudy Stockhausen, the government secretary of Ahuas, told The New York Times. "Would you risk a million-dollar investment to smuggle five firearms?"

McCabe said that the prisoners are losing hope.

"They've been told twice that they're getting out tomorrow. But tomorrow comes, and they're kept in jail," he said.

On May 16, the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa visited the men in jail and said in a statement that they are giving "appropriate" consular assistance. U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, has been asking officials to take action. A fundraiser has also been created to help efforts.

"This is just a travesty that we're here," Robert told The New York Times via telephone this week. "We have violated no law. We came down to do a beautiful project. ... This whole project has been near and dear to my heart. We still intend to do this."

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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