The ten of the boat: recklessness and hopelessness

Havana/The list of names released by the Cuban regime after the shooting on February 25, near Cayo Falcones, in Corralillo, Villa Clara, draws the human map of an episode that continues to be surrounded by gray areas. Ten Cubans who left on a boat with Florida license plates ended up suddenly becoming “terrorists” for Havana and into “heroes” for some of the exiles, while their families demand something more basic and verifiable: clear information, a transparent medical report and consular access to the survivors.

A source consulted by 14ymedio On condition of anonymity, she knew several of the crew and seemed surprised by the route chosen. “That is the hottest spot there is, near a lighthouse,” he warns. “It’s supposed to be super monitored. Coincidentally, the movie Border Guards It was filmed there. Imagine how guarded that is.” The observation reinforces the questions that run through this case: what exactly happened in those waters? Why did they choose such an exposed place for a supposedly clandestine operation? Did they fall into a trap?

Some Cubans have lost faith in being able to achieve “democratic changes in a country that is kidnapped by a group that came to power through weapons,” adds the same source. He assures that “they did not possess assault rifles, that is illegal, in any case they were rifles that any citizen or resident in the United States who does not have a criminal record can buy.”

Pável Alling Peña, Michel Ortega Casanova, Ledián Padrón Guevara and Héctor Duani Cruz Correa were officially identified as the four killed in the confrontation. Beyond the “terrorist” label used by the Ministry of the Interior, the trajectories that emerge from each name show diverse profiles and, in some cases, contradictory with the official story.

Michel Ortega Casanova, 54, was the first confirmed death. Different sources place it in the central area of ​​Florida, between Lakeland and Tampa. His relatives claim that he had been in the United States for more than two decades and worked as a truck driver. His brother, Misael Ortega, rejects the accusation of terrorism and summarizes the family perception with a phrase repeated in other cases: “They call anyone who goes against their ideology a terrorist.”

Pável Alling Peña, 45 years old and native of Camagüey, adds a particularly uncomfortable angle to the official speech. Graduated in Art History from the University of Havana in 2004, he was presented years ago by state media as a creator linked to cultural projects. In 2022 he obtained US citizenship and was working in activities related to photography. On January 30, he published on his social networks a message addressed to the armed forces of the regime: “Woe betide that soldier who does not lower his weapons and, even worse, shoots at the people, because the terror unleashed will be sublime in its crudest expression. Cuba will be free soon.”

The third deceased, Ledián Padrón Guevara, 25 years old, appears in newspaper reports as a young man with a life divided between Houston and Miami. His social networks place him as a native of the Camagüey municipality of Esmeralda and show above all artistic interests, with aspirations in the urban genre. After the protests of July 11, 2021 wrote: “Come on, Cuba. Strength, history is witness.” His relatives insist that he did not have a violent history.

Amijail Sánchez González, a 47-year-old tree trimmer known as ‘El Guajiro’, is described as “the most playful and jovial of the group”

Regarding Héctor Duani Cruz Correa, however, there is a notable biographical void. What has emerged is the immediate family impact. A former couple declared Telemundo 51: “I still don’t know how I’m going to tell my 5-year-old son that daddy won’t be around anymore.” International reports also link him to the theft of the boat, which would have been used without the consent of the registered owner in Florida.

Among the six survivors, the name with the most prior mention is that of Amijail Sánchez González, a 47-year-old tree trimmer. The Cuban Government includes him among the two individuals who already appeared on its National List linked to investigations for “terrorism or violent acts.” That is, before the shooting it was already marked as a high priority target. However, the source consulted by this newspaper describes him in a very different way: “he is the most noble and cheerful of the group.” Among those close to him he was known as The Guajiro and “he was compared, due to his jovial character, to Camilo Cienfuegos.”

According to his family said to Washington PostSánchez notified his elderly parents on the island just one day before leaving on the boat. During an hour-long call, his relatives begged him to desist. The episode also occurs in a context of prior pressure, since at the end of 2024 the authorities detained the parents – both cancer patients – for months to force him to return to Cuba and surrender.

The middle name previously included in that National List is Leordán Enrique Cruz Gómez. A native of Cienfuegos and born on November 6, 1978, his case has generated a strong family reaction. His wife demands “proof of life” and asks why they are not allowed “to know that the person is okay, that they are breathing.” His brother fears the worst scenario and denounces contradictions in the official narrative. “I did it working in Arizona,” he says, and denies that he received any financing to carry out violent actions.

Conrado Galindo Sariol is 58 years old and was a victim of repression, according to those around him. Telemundo 51 He states that he served seven years in prison in Cuba before emigrating and that his family heard direct threats: “You leave or we will kill you.” His wife admits her political opposition to the Government, but rejects the label of terrorism. Both she and her daughter remember that Galindo said goodbye saying: “I’m going to work.”

Regarding Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, both included among the injured, the verifiable information available remains scarce. Their names appear in the official list and in press reproductions, but without a complete biographical profile that allows evaluating their trajectory or immigration situation.

Roberto Álvarez Ávila, 34 years old and native of Cienfuegos, was the last to join the list after the official rectification that initially replaced his name with that of Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Azcorra himself appeared in Miami to deny his participation, a slip that damaged the credibility of the Interior Ministry’s statement. According to the source consulted by 14ymedioÁlvarez had no political aspirations and dreamed of “having a little house in Cienfuegos, near the beach, with a colonial style.” He has at least one young daughter and his family has avoided informing his father, who has heart surgery.

The mistaken inclusion of Azcorra Consuegra in the first official note was not a simple clumsiness. In a case involving deaths, injuries and an armed incident in Cuban waters, the error reinforced doubts about the coincidence of the armed encounter described by the government version. The subsequent correction – accompanied by new generic accusations about “violent trajectories” – also failed to close the gap of mistrust.