A small ferry boat hijacked in Havana Bay and forced to sail toward Florida had returned to Cuba Thursday after Cuban authorities chased it some 30 miles into international waters.

The boat left international waters late Wednesday under Cuban government escort, a US Coast Guard official in Miami said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He declined further comment.

It was unclear whether the hijackers had surrendered.

FBI agents had waited nearby on a US Coast Guard cutter as Cuban authorities tried to persuade the hijackers to give up. The men had threatened to throw some of the passengers overboard if they did not get their way, the Cuban government said in a written statement on Wednesday.