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Fishermen in the Ciudamar area, on the coast of Santiago de Cuba, found the lifeless body of Mr. Carlos Clavel Camejo this morning, who had been reported missing by his family five days earlier.
The news was reported by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on Facebook, where he specified that the body was found in Ciudamar, a coastal area with fishing activity.
The body was transferred to the funeral home in Santiago de Cuba, where family and loved ones are saying their final goodbyes. Given the sensitivity of the moment, the family has chosen not to make any public statements.
Carlos Clavel Camejo's funeral is scheduled for 3:00 PM this Wednesday at a local cemetery.
One element that has not gone unnoticed is that it was not the police who located the man. Mayeta Labrada stated it plainly: "It was not an institutional operation that found Carlos Clavel Camejo. It was fishermen. Ordinary people. The same people as always who end up doing what the State does not."
Clavel Camejo, residing on San Miguel Street, between Aguilera and Portuondo, had left his home on the morning of Saturday, April 18 without returning.
His loved ones described him as someone who did not typically go out without notifying anyone, who did not carry a phone with him, and who was experiencing "a slight mental imbalance" at that time. The family searched for Carlos in all the hospitals in Santiago de Cuba, but they could not find him.
During the five days of search, the family did not receive effective responses from the authorities. This pattern repeats with alarming frequency in Cuba: families searching for their loved ones on their own, relying on social media and citizen solidarity, in the face of the state's inaction.
In Cuba, there is no early warning system for missing persons, there is no dissemination in state media, and the police are repeatedly criticized for their inaction.
The alert was issued by Mayeta Labrada, based on information provided by the missing person's nephew, and four contact numbers were published for anyone who had information about his whereabouts.
"When it is the institutions that fail and coincidence is what finds, it is almost always too late," wrote the reporter when revealing the outcome of the case.
The case of Carlos Clavel Camejo is not the first of its kind in Santiago de Cuba.
In June 2025, Nelson Benites Torres, 73 years old and suffering from senile dementia, disappeared after leaving a police station, and his family reported official inaction.
In December of the same year, Ángel Hung Ramos, another elderly person with senile dementia residing in Santiago de Cuba, was found deceased after ten days of searching in Manzanillo.
The Observatorio de Alas Tensas reported 37 disappearances in Cuba during 2025, of which five women were found dead and at least five cases involved elderly adults with cognitive decline.
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