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A bowl of soup prepared by a mother, a hurried farewell before heading to work, and a promise to return in a few hours. This is how the last hours of several of the ten Cubans who set out in a boat from the Florida Keys to Cuba began, according to a reconstruction by The New York Times, in a mission that ended in a shooting with the island's coast guard.
None of them returned home.
Héctor Cruz Correa told his mother he was going fishing and asked her to prepare his favorite meat soup to take on the trip. Roberto Álvarez Ávila, father of three, assured his wife that he would see her after his shift as a security guard at Walmart. Conrado Galindo Sariol told his partner that he was going out to work delivering packages.
Hours later, the three were part of a group of ten Cuban immigrants who, according to the island's government, had left Florida with weapons heading towards the northern coast of Cuba.
The confrontation took place on February 25, approximately a mile from the island. Four of the men died during the shooting, and another passed away days later from his injuries. The remaining five were injured and remain detained in Cuba.
More than two weeks after the incident, many questions still remain about what they really intended to do.
According to the report by the American newspaper, the men met through group chats on TikTok and organizations that promote the fight against communism in Cuba. Most of them lived in Miami and Tampa, cities where anti-Castro sentiment runs deep.
Some in exile believe that the group may have convinced themselves that a small group of militants could challenge the Cuban government at a time they consider to be one of political and economic weakness on the island.
"It was a display of bravery, of courage," said the Cuban activist Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as Antúnez, during a small ceremony held in Little Havana to honor the men. "Those men went there to leave everything behind."
Families, however, experience the drama from a different perspective.
María Antonia Correa Pérez, mother of Cruz Correa, recalled the last moment she shared with her son at their home in Homestead, Florida. He had some of the soup she prepared and took the rest in his lunchbox before heading to the Keys.
Days later, he had to identify his body through a video call from Cuba.
"I'm heartbroken," she said. "I can't bear this pain."
Cuban authorities claim that the men were carrying an arsenal that included high-caliber weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and military equipment. They also assert that they intended to attack targets on the island and "create confusion, generate unrest, and instill fear."
Survivors could face terrorism charges in Cuba.
Meanwhile, in Miami, the story has left a mix of questions, pain, and controversy. Some exiles remember them as men willing to fight against the Cuban government; others wonder how a group of immigrants ended up embarking on a mission that seemed doomed to fail from the very beginning.
Behind the shooting, the guns, and the politics, there are also the stories of families who are still trying to understand why their children, husbands, or fathers left home that morning and never returned.
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