Anxiety is growing in Niquero. While several social media pages claim, without evidence, that the bodies of the Cubans missing on their way to Jamaica have been found, the families insist that there has been no confirmed rescue and that Jamaican authorities continue their search by sea and land.
In a video posted on Facebook, Yariennis Guevara Tamayo, a relative of three of the missing persons, denied the information circulating online and urged the public "not to be swayed by fabricated news."
"We are in contact with the people in Jamaica; they say they will not stop searching, but so far they haven't found anything, they haven't found any bodies," Guevara explained.
"All the news they give us will be communicated. Please, over there in Niquero… help. There are mothers who are suffering," he implored.
At least 16 people from the province of Granma have been missing since Sunday, when they set off in three improvised vessels heading to Montego Bay, Jamaica, as confirmed by Guevara to CiberCuba.
The boats set off from Palma de la Cruz, a coastal area in the municipality of Niquero, where, according to local residents, several groups have attempted to reach Jamaica in recent days, fleeing hunger, unemployment, and a lack of future in Cuba.
During the journey, the boats became separated. The dinghy carrying three of Guevara's family members capsized near the Jamaican coast, but so far there is no evidence of rescues, bodies, or debris from the boat.
“We need help… to go search around Cabo Cruz and over there in Jamaica. We can’t take it anymore,” the young woman pleaded. “My aunt lost her two children and the father of one of them. People are desperate, crying in the streets.”
Without official responses
Neither the Cuban nor the Jamaican authorities have issued public statements. There are no reports of rescue operations in the Caribbean Sea, despite family members in Cuba and abroad sending messages, emails, and calls without receiving a response.
"The phones go unanswered, no one says anything," Guevara lamented. The uncertainty is exacerbated by misinformation.
The identified missing persons include young people and adults from Niquero, Las Coloradas, and Palma de la Cruz. Among them:
- Idionis Bilte, 28 years old
- Yoni Alejandro Tamayo, 18 years old
- Omar Guevara Pérez, 50 years old
- Danni Guevara Tamayo, 28 years old
Everyone left in extremely precarious conditions, under a cold front and with a very rough sea, as Guevara explained.
"There was a cold front, the sea was very rough, the waves were rising... and apparently the small boat capsized," he recounted.
From Jamaica, some Cubans residing in the country have attempted to contact the coast guard and local authorities, but have not received any confirmation.
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