Four of the deceased in the shipwreck on January 24 in the surroundings of Cayo Cruz del Padre, in the province of Matanzas, have been identified in social media by their relatives. They are the 19-year-old Nayelis Rodríguez, Kevin Medina, Tito González and Yoan Karel Almaguer Tamayo.
This Saturday, an official media outlet from Cárdenas, teleflagconfirmed that a 19-year-old girl was among the five dead found by the Border Guard Troops, although he did not specify if it was Rodríguez.
Among the 28 shipwrecked estimated by the official press – a figure lower than the 31 indicated by the relatives – the authorities also reported 11 survivors and 12 missing, among the latter Armando García, the husband of Nayelis Rodríguez, according to what he told 14ymedio Marta Vázquez Molina, mother of two of the crew members.
For their part, the friends and family of Medina and González lamented the incident in Facebook posts and, in the case of Medina, organized a vigil in Cárdenas on January 24 to honor the memory of the deceased.
As for Almaguer Tamayo, who was initially among the disappeared, his body was discovered near the Iberostar hotel, on Varadero beach, according to exposed an uncle of the young man Radio Television Martí. After a hotel worker found the body, he was transferred by forensics to Legal Medicine. A user posted a photograph of the body on social networks, but Almaguer Tamayo’s family requested that it be removed.
As for Almaguer Tamayo, who was initially among the disappeared, his body was discovered near the Iberostar hotel, on Varadero beach.
According to the official version, the boat left Las Torronteras, on the Cárdenas coast, and could not withstand the impact of the waves, according to several of the rafters interviewed by the official press. The beach from which the raft left is located in front of Varadero, one of the most significant tourist areas of the Island, whose luxury contrasts with the poverty of the north coast of Matanzas.
The Telebandera note assured that the investigations and “search actions at sea” continued. Marta Vazquez Molina denounced in conversation with this newspaper that the Border Guards had initially suspended the nightly search for the disappeared alleging lack of equipment. This Saturday, he reported that pressure from family members had made the authorities resume the operation not only on the Cuban coast but also in international waters, and with the help of local boats. However, they have had no results.
One of Vázquez Molina’s daughters, Yamily Triana Vázquez, 35, is among the missing. The other, Yailyn Mesa Vázquez, 27, survived the shipwreck and was rescued.
Vázquez explained that the crew members left from La Sierrita beach, in Cárdenas, on the night of January 23 and were shipwrecked the following noon. Her two daughters stayed together until Yamily Triana died and her sister drifted until the next day, when a fishing boat rescued her, dehydrated and burned.
Vázquez explained that the crew members left from La Sierrita beach, in Cárdenas, on the night of January 23 and were shipwrecked the following noon.
Another 11 people were rescued in the incident and, after receiving medical assistance and despite being convalescent and in a state of dehydration, they were detained by State Security and transferred to the Santa Marta police unit.
On the 26th, the relatives began to pressure the Police and demanded to see the castaways. Hours later, the authorities released several of the detainees, including Yailyn Mesa, but transferred nine of those rescued to the Matanzas police station called El Técnico, to continue the investigations.
This Saturday, Vázquez confirmed to 14ymedio that his daughter was still free. “She is here with me recovering from her wounds and burns, but the others are still imprisoned in El Técnico,” she said.
Yamily Triana left behind an 11-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. The Vazquez family had suffered, in 2021, repression by the Police after the 11J protests. Another of her daughters, Yarelys, was arrested along with her husband, after a spectacular arrest by a police brigade. black berets for their participation in the demonstrations.
Despite multiple deportations from the US, Cubans continue to throw themselves into the sea to escape the Island. Only in January of this year the number of repatriates exceeded 1,200. The talks between Havana and Washington and new immigration regulations have tried to stop the flow of Cubans who arrive irregularly in the United States.
In December 2022, after more than 313,000 citizens of the Island crossed the Mexican border, the Biden Administration decided to take more radical measures to regain border control and promote legal migration through a new entry mechanism through of a sponsor that guarantees their financial support, among other requirements. However, this procedure has not stopped the arrival of Cubans by sea either.
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