Five days ago, Niurka Casanova, mother of Michel Ortega Casanova, one of the first four Cubans who died in the shot-down boat on February 25 in Cayos Falcones, Villa Clara, pleaded through tears to the Cuban regime, in an interview with CiberCuba, for the return of her son's body. Yesterday, Michel's only remaining sister in Morón (Ciego de Ávila), traveled to Havana, identified the body, and agreed to have it cremated so that she could bring his ashes to the United States, the country where he had lived for the past 20 years.
In addition to the grief of their loss, the family has had to face an expense of $1,000 for the time the body remained in the Medical Examiner's office. According to the bill they received, they owed $50 per day. This was stated to CiberCuba by Misael Ortega Casanova, brother of Michel.
The mother, Niurka Casanova, gives a different figure. She says they paid between 200 and 300 Cuban pesos, but when asked by CiberCuba if she is sure, she said no because she believes her daughter in Cuba is not telling her the whole truth to avoid worrying her.
Once the news was published, Norita Zamora, Michel's sister who lives in Cuba, stated that she was not charged for receiving the body and defended the efforts of State Security to expedite the transfer of the remains.
The paradox is that Michel's mother, completely shattered with grief, asked in the interview she gave last week to CiberCuba for information about where her son was because no one, until Thursday, March 12, had informed the family of the steps to take to recover the body.
Michel's brothers and wife, from the United States, regret that State Security handed over the body without the wedding ring, which the widow wanted to keep as a memento. They also did not return his phone or personal belongings.
When her sister arrived at Forensic Medicine in Havana, they showed her the corpse, with the body covered and only the face exposed. While she was identifying him, State Security agents were filming the scene, so she could only see what they allowed her to. From Florida, the rest of the family joined via video call, but they were not permitted to see the body, according to the testimony provided to this portal by Misael Ortega Casanova.
Once Michel's body was cremated, State Security transferred Michel's sister and her husband in an escorted jeep. From Morón, many neighbors have reached out to the family in the United States to express their willingness to help with the wake, as Michel and his brother Misael were well-known and beloved in the town.
Now the family is only focused on moving Michel's ashes to Florida. To do this, they first have to send a certified cremation urn from the United States because the one they received in Cuba does not meet current regulations in the U.S.
Michel's mother is completely distraught. And she is not the only one. The widow has lost so much weight in a month that her family is worried. In addition to the pain, they are left with the bitter feeling that the U.S. Embassy in Cuba has not commented on what happened, despite the fact that Michel was an American citizen. It should be noted that the Embassy has also not condemned the armed boat entry into Cuba.
Michel Ortega was on the boat that was shot down by regime border guards in Cayos Falcones, near the municipality of Corralillo, in Villa Clara, on February 25th. On March 13th, Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that Cuba would allow the FBI to enter the Island to investigate what happened. There will be little they can investigate once the bodies are cremated. This is how Cubalex lawyer Alain Espinosa sees it, considering that the opportunity to analyze, based on the bullet wounds on the bodies, where and from what distance the shots were fired is lost.
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