A Cuban family is seeking help on social media to locate the young man Yusdel Concepción Domínguez, who left on a boat on December 24 and has since been out of contact, along with the other occupants of the vessel, including his wife.
The family has used social media several times this year to spread the word about the search.
According to the post by Maritza Concepción Zarmiento, Yusdel's aunt, he left Cuba along with other family members on a makeshift boat, but to date, they have not received any information about his whereabouts.
"Since December 24, we haven't heard anything about my nephew, his wife, and the other family members who were traveling with them. We are all devastated. They left young children in Cuba, and we need help to find them. May God guide them and allow us to hear from them," he wrote.
A woman named Yuvisleidy Santana revealed that her husband was also traveling on the same vessel as Yusdel, and despite numerous efforts, she has not received any information about them.
"My dear, there’s no information. I’ve searched everywhere and found nothing," he commented in response to the call for help.
The case of Yusdel and his family is not isolated. Every year, dozens of Cubans brave the sea in makeshift boats, risking their lives in search of better conditions beyond the island.
Last August, it was reported that the dangerous maritime journey from Cuba to the United States claimed the lives of at least 142 rafters in the first eight months of 2024, according to a report from the Missing Migrants Programme of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
These tragic figures, cited by EFE, were part of a broader picture that recorded a total of 291 migrants dead or missing in the Caribbean maritime routes over the year, representing an 18% increase compared to the 247 cases reported throughout 2023.
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