Cuban killed by Russian drone bombing in Ukraine remains in a mass grave

The young CubanRaibel Palacio Herrera, who reportedly died in January in a drone attack after being recruited by Russia for the war in Ukraine, was buried in a mass grave without ceremonies or a flag, the family denounced.

Palacio's wife, Melissa Flores, who had received a promise that the body would be repatriated to Cuba, told the American newspaperThe Wall Street Journal that the young man was buried without any ceremony.

Through a friend of her partner who was also recruited by Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine, the woman learned that "Raibel had been shot in the leg by a drone and had bled to death while trying to put on a tourniquet."

"He told me that they had buried him in a common grave, without any ceremony or flag," he stressed.

In January, Flores and the recruit's mother reported that the young man, just 21 years old, traveled to Russia deceived, as they only told him that he would go to build trenches on the battlefield against Ukraine.

However, in an audio the young man said that they had been deceived, but upon arriving at the place the victim reported that they had been deceived: "These people are scamming us. We thought one thing and another came out," he stated in the audio.

The Wall Street Journal describes in his article how Russia recruits soldiers from Cuba to fight in Ukraine; and states that "eager to escape the poverty of the communist island, Cubans enlist in the Russian army."

Palacio Herrera traveled to Russia in November and in December Flores gave birth to a baby that the young man did not meet.

The recruit's mother had kept demanding the return of her son's body to Cuba and had received a promise from an alleged Russian general, who was the one who reported that Palacio Herrera died after being hit by a Ukrainian drone in an attack where another colleague He was also seriously injured.

He assured him that the body would be repatriated to the island, but the family reported that no official had contacted the Cuban embassy in Moscow.

The mother constantly askedwhere was his son's body.

A cousin of the victim added that the alleged contract presented to the recruited young people spoke of money that the family had not seen either.

"It's all a lie, please I want those who have to do with the recruitment to get what they deserve, because of them today a family is devastated without news of the culprit of our mourner," he stated in a Facebook post.

On January 10, the death of another Cuban enlisted in the Russian army also emerged. It was the young boxer Yansiel Morejón, 26 years old, another victim of human trafficking between Havana and Moscow.

In September of last year, it was revealed thanks to complaints from relatives that Russia was recruiting young people from the island and sending them to the battle front in Ukraine.

The Havana regime said that it did not support mercenarism and committed to dismantling an alleged smuggling network that involved several Cuban officials and diplomats; but recruitments have continued as demonstrated by the case of Palacio Herrera, who was recruited in November.

Last September, a Russian officer confirmed, in statements on condition of anonymity, that many Cubans are on the front as part of international battalions fighting in the war in Ukraine.

"When I was already behind the tape in the battalion, I was, to put it mildly, in shock: there were only Cubans and Serbs there. Not everyone speaks Russian well. It is not clear how to work with them. And these are not some PMC , all are under contract with the Ministry of Defense," said the soldier in statements toThe Moscow Times.

This information was corroborated to the aforementioned media by a Spanish translator who worked with Cuban emigration, who confirmed that there were many Cubans recruited by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

"It is possible that Cuban citizens are being recruited due to cost considerations, as they are simply cheaper," said another Russian official interviewed by the outlet in September.The Intercept.

Despite this, two weeks ago it emerged that the Cuban regime had begun to release members of the group of 17 people who in September 2023 were arrested as part of a recruitment network on the island of mercenaries for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. as revealedAmerica Camel.

The aforementioned media outlet announced that Yassiel Yera and Rafael Albares, two of the Cubans that the media's sources in Cuba identified in September among those detained in Santa Clara, are free.