The Cuban regime would have obtained "sensitive information" in Kenya aboutthe alleged deaths of Cuban doctors kidnapped by the Islamic militia Al-Shabaab and transferred to Somalia by the terrorist group.
Andstatement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX) thanked the Kenyan government for its cooperation and claimed to be in possession of “sensitive information” about what happened to the doctorsAssel Herrera Correa andLandy Rodriguez Hernandez.
“Sensitive information has been obtained that helps advance the still limited clarification of the news disseminated regarding the alleged deaths of the Cuban doctors in Somalia, where they were kidnapped,” indicated the MINREX statement.
The alleged “sensitive” and secret information would have been the result of “the efforts carried out by the colleagueEsteban Lazo Hernandez during his visit to the Republic of Kenya and, specifically, his meeting with the PresidentWilliam Ruto"said the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
“The information obtained is currently being processed by the authorities in charge of closely monitoring such an important investigation. Meanwhile, efforts continue with various governments and international actors in search of cooperation and greater clarification,” said MINREX.
In mid-February, the Arab group Al-Shabaab reported, through its Telegram channel, about the possible death of the two Cuban doctors.kidnapped in Somalia since 2019.
According to information released by the militants of that Arab organization, Rodríguez Hernández and Herrera Correa died as a result of a United States drone attack inside the city of Jilib, a stronghold of Al-Shabaab militants.
The independent news siteGarowe Online echoed the news, although he assured that he had not been able to verify its veracity. However, several Arab media and African journalists replicated the information.
After learning the news of the alleged death of the doctors, the Cuban regimesent Lazo Hernández to Kenya as High Level Special Envoy, in what was called "urgent negotiations with the highest authorities of that country in the search for cooperation and clarification."
A statement released by the Cuban Foreign Ministry indicated that "from the first hours of receiving news, the Cuban government gives absolute priority to the efforts that, by various means and on the part of different international actors, are carried out in order to obtain "the most objective information referring to the facts, until all possibilities to confirm the situation of our compatriots are exhausted."
For its part, the government ofThe United States launched an investigation to clarify whether an air attack carried out on February 15 against terrorists in Somalia could have caused the death of the two Cuban doctors.
In that sense, the Pentagon said it was reviewing reports on the possible deaths of both doctors during an airstrike by US forces near the Somali town of Jilib.
The operation was confirmed by the Somali government and by a spokesperson for AFRICOM (US Military Command in Africa), who also acknowledged having received reports about the alleged deaths of civilians in the offensive.
The lack of transparency on the issue of the doctors' release was a constant all this time, and except on rare occasions, both the Cuban and Kenyan sides limited themselves to saying that the talks were continuing.
The limited information in this regard suggests that the doctors They were kidnapped to provide health care to terrorists of the organization, which also requested 1.5 million dollars in exchange for his release.
The Kenyan government refused to pay any sum, because it would encourage these extremist groups to continue kidnapping doctors in exchange for financial compensation.
The pressures of independent Cuban civil society were not enough for the government ofMiguel Diaz-Canel address the matter as clearly as possible and explain in detail why the negotiation took so long, the requests of the parties involved and the state of the toilets.
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