MIAMI, United States. – A 14-year-old minor, identified as Ronald, was found dead this Saturday in one of the swimming pools of the Ciudad Deportiva complex, in the Cerro municipality, Havana, according to comments on Facebook from fellow students and relatives.
The disappearance of the minor had been reported last Friday, October 17. Until the closing of this note, there was no public statement from the authorities explaining what happened. The information was initially disclosed by independent means and neighbors and classmates of the adolescent on Facebook.
According to these reports, the minor’s body was found drowned one day after the disappearance was reported. A fellow student, identified as Sandro González in Facebook comments spread by the independent press, assured that “no one took his life.” Confirmation of the cause and circumstances of death has not been offered by official sources.
Ronald lived on Patria Street and was studying at the “Camilo Cienfuegos” Basic Secondary School, also in El Cerro, colleagues and friends confirmed on social networks. For more than 24 hours, family, teachers, neighbors and friends participated in a search that was coordinated online.
“From the beginning, the unthinkable was done, all united, without thinking about it, mothers, fathers, teachers, neighbors, they searched tirelessly. His mom only had him and he only had her… Very sad…” wrote a young woman identified as Liany Morejón Rodríguez.
In messages of condolence published by people close to the minor, they insist on the impact that the news had on the school community. A mother reported: “My daughter is like in shock, that ‘no,’ it’s a lie,’ and she can’t get out of it.”
The discovery revived questions about the state and custody of the Ciudad Deportiva pools. Although in 2019 the repair of the complex was announced —including the Olympic and diving events—, reports from February of this year describe stagnant greenish water, cracks, lack of security and accesses with holes in the fence.
“The boys sneak in to bathe and play on the weekends because there is no guard,” commented another user on the media publication The Scissors.
