Mailén Díaz Almaguer, the sole survivor of the Cubana de Aviación flight 972 accident that occurred in 2018, posted a brief message filled with emotion on Facebook this Wednesday, following the latest judicial updates related to the air disaster and less than a month before the eighth anniversary of the tragedy.
"May JUSTICE be the word that honors the upcoming 18th of May after 8 years of suffering and uncertainty", he wrote.
The message was accompanied by a video by journalist Mario J. Pentón, in which the communicator analyzes the implications of a recent court ruling in Mexico that condemns the airline Global Air (Aerolíneas Damojh) to compensate the families of four crew members who died in the accident, alongside lawyer Samuel González Ruiz.
The ruling was issued on March 30 by the Fourteenth District Judge in Civil Matters in Mexico and was communicated to the families of the crew during the first week of April.
The ruling orders the payment of approximately 30 million Mexican pesos —about 600,000 dollars at the current exchange rate— to each of the four benefited family groups, for a total of 124.2 million pesos.
According to González Ruiz, the ruling is clear: "The airline Damojh was responsible for operating the aircraft without proper maintenance and despite the existing prohibition against the aircraft flying."
The prohibition was due to a strike that the aircraft had suffered in the reversible second at the Havana airport, damage that the company was aware of and concealed.
The lawyer added that "all the aircraft maintenance records were falsified" by the company management, which he described as "a reckless act of excusable negligence by all those involved in this matter."
The accident on May 18, 2018 was the worst air disaster in Cuba in thirty years.
The Boeing 737-200, leased by Cubana de Aviación from the Mexican airline Global Air, crashed 35 seconds after taking off from José Martí International Airport en route to Holguín, falling in an agricultural area of the Boyeros municipality.
Of the 113 people on board, 112 died: 101 Cubans, six Mexican crew members, and five foreign passengers. Mailén, who was just 19 years old at the time, was the only definitive survivor after losing her husband, Jean Michel López Salinas, in the accident, with whom she had been married for only two months.
Mailén does not forget
Since the very year of the accident, Mailén has maintained a firm and steadfast stance in her demand for justice.
Through her social media, she has commemorated each anniversary of the tragedy not only as an act of mourning but also as a public denunciation of the lack of answers and clear accountability.
On several occasions, he has pointed out the lack of transparency in the investigations and the absence of institutional support for victims and their families.
Her claim has also been marked by personal pain and the memory of those who died, especially that of her husband, making her one of the most prominent voices in the case.
Over the years, he has insisted that this is not just about compensation, but about uncovering the facts, identifying those responsible, and preventing similar tragedies. His recurring message has been clear: without justice, the process will remain incomplete.
The ruling, although it is the first firm civil compensation sentence in the case, does not conclude the process.
What's next?
There is a parallel class action lawsuit filed in the Fifth Federal Court of Mexico since 2019, which includes Cuban passengers and names as defendants Damojh, its director Manuel Rodríguez Campa, the Mexican insurer B4MAS, Boeing Corporation, and other insurance companies.
González Ruiz expressed optimism: "There is a great possibility that just as this ruling was issued, a similar ruling can be obtained in the collective action for all passengers."
However, the road is full of obstacles.
Global Air is facing a bankruptcy process due to commercial court proceedings initiated in 2024 without an agreement with creditors, raising serious doubts about the actual possibility of families receiving the ordered compensations.
This is compounded by the Cuban regime's refusal to cooperate with the Mexican justice system.
Despite more than eight international requests sent by the Attorney General's Office of the Republic to Cuba, today, after eight years, Cuba refuses to provide the documents requested by the Mexican government to continue the criminal investigations.
The demand for justice eight years after the tragedy remains the call of the survivors and the families of the victims.
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