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The silence of the Cuban regime persists a week after the explosions that occurred at the Military Unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) in Melones, Rafael Freyre municipality, Holguín.
The tragedy, which according to official information left 13 missing, mostly young people fulfilling Mandatory Military Service (SMO), has sparked outrage among family members and the public.
The initial official reports indicated that the detonations occurred in a military materials warehouse. However, authorities noted that accessing the site posed a danger due to potential secondary explosions.
Since then, rescue efforts have not commenced, according to family members. In a brief note published on January 10, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) reported that they were in contact with the relatives of the missing, but did not provide details about the progress of the investigation or possible rescue attempts.
Desperation among the relatives
Among the missing is Héctor Adrián Batista Zayas, 20 years old, a resident of the La Pedrona neighborhood in the Mayarí municipality.
Her mother, described as “devastated” by neighbors, had to be hospitalized for therapy after receiving the news. According to statements gathered by independent media, the family has faced not only the pain of loss but also uncertainty and official secrecy.
"It is not easy to hand over your child to the State for Military Service and then be told that he disappeared just like that. There isn't even a body to mourn," lamented a close friend.
Like Héctor Adrián, eight other young soldiers, lacking proper training, were assigned to tasks in underground tunnels where it was allegedly handling war material.
Reports of negligence
Relatives have accused the regime of negligence and cover-up. According to testimonies collected from social media and independent outlets, the recruits were handling potentially dangerous materials without the necessary training or equipment.
Images captured by residents of the area showed orange flames, which could indicate the presence of chemical substances.
The MINFAR, for its part, assured that access to the site would be granted “as soon as conditions allow” and that the return of evacuees to their homes had been authorized after assessing that there was no immediate danger.
These statements have been insufficient to quell the outrage of the families, who believe that no concrete measures have been taken to locate the missing individuals.
Growing indignation
The case has triggered a wave of criticism on social media and independent media. A post from the platform “La Tijera” highlighted the names of the missing recruits and questioned the reasons behind the incident.
"It is possible that they didn't even know what they were transporting and handling. Anti-aircraft missiles, chemical weapons? Anything could be possible," the publication noted, which also criticized the neglect of families.
The regime's secrecy is not an isolated issue. In previous crises, such as the explosion at the Saratoga Hotel or the fire at the Matanzas supertanker base, authorities have been criticized for their lack of transparency and poor management of information.
Silence that weighs heavy
The Cuban regime maintains strict control over information, limiting access to reliable data about the incident. The lack of official communication fuels uncertainty and reinforces suspicions of a cover-up. Meanwhile, the families of the missing await answers and, above all, action.
“No one has searched at any moment. They were told they had to wait 72 hours, but more than seven days have passed and nothing has been done,” denounced Jesús Antonio, uncle of Liander José García Oliva, another of the missing young men.
In a context where misinformation prevails and families bear the weight of official silence, the demands for justice and transparency grow each day. The tragedy in Holguín not only exposes the structural failures in the regime's crisis management but also the high human cost of a system that seems to prioritize its secrets over the truth.
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