Elizabet Tuñón is experiencing the hardest days of her life since her son, William Tamayo Tuñón, 41, went missing at sea along with 17-year-old Alejandro Peñafuerte.
According to his family, William left his home in the Martí municipality of Matanzas on Monday afternoon with the intention of fishing, but suspicions suggest he may have boarded a speedboat bound for the United States.
Since then, silence and rumors have been his only companions.
"I am the mother of William Tamayo Tuñón. My son has been missing since Monday at 2:00 p.m. when he went fishing with Alejandro Peñafuerte. We have not heard anything more about my son. We have received news that he has drowned. We know nothing. I am desperate," Elizabet confessed to Martí Noticias.
William, the father of two children aged 15 and 5, used to fish regularly on the north coast of Cuba.
His departure that day was no different from the others, according to the family, who saw him leave with the promise of returning in two or three days, when the ice for preserving the fish would run out. However, this time he did not come back.
The mother's desperation grows with each hour that passes without any concrete news.
"There is always hope. Hope is the last thing to be lost, no matter how hard this is. My son had a tattoo with the names of his children and others on one leg. We just want to know what happened. I am devastated," Elizabet expressed.
A family in suspense
The case of William and Alejandro has plunged the family into a state of constant uncertainty.
The mother of Tamayo Tuñón's children, Yaniuska González, is also demanding answers.
"This is very hard on the children. What we are going through is very tough. We ask the U.S. Coast Guard or anyone who knows anything to provide us with some official information," he pleaded.
The family has received conflicting accounts of what happened.
Some rumors suggest that the boat they were supposedly traveling in had an accident, with only one of the boatmen surviving, while others claim that there are three survivors. However, no authorities have confirmed this information.
"The Cuban police searched without success, and the U.S. Border Patrol told us they have no information about them. We don't know who else to turn to," González added.
The U.S. Coast Guard has stated that it is investigating the case following a request for information from the mentioned media outlet, but so far there are no concrete leads on the whereabouts of the missing individuals.
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