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Nelson Ramón Paneque Aguilar, a 29-year-old Cuban originally from Guisa in the province of Granma, has been missing for seven months in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and his case has gained new urgency following the circulation on social media of unconfirmed reports stating that he has died.
The Cuban communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada warned this Wednesday on Facebook that these claims lack evidence. "In recent hours, several publications have declared Nelson Paneque Aguilar dead, a young Cuban who has been missing in Mexico since the end of last year. However, as of today, there is no official confirmation or conclusive evidence to assert that he was murdered."
According to Mayeta Labrada, the only "evidence" circulating is the testimony of a woman who claims to have seen a video — allegedly in the possession of Nelson's former boss — showing the moment of his death.
But that video was never shown publicly. "There is no video. There is no material evidence. There is no body. There is no DNA. There is no official confirmation," the communicator emphasized.
Nelson disappeared on October 4, 2025. According to his mother, Iriannis Aguilar, that Saturday, the young man went out with his boss, and in the early hours of Sunday, he went with a coworker to the Mamitas bar, a well-known nightclub in Puerto Vallarta. Since then, nothing has been heard from him.
Iriannis, who remains in Cuba unable to travel to Mexico, does not confirm the death of his son and insists that there are only rumors. Since October 2025, he has maintained an intense search campaign on social media, posting in groups like "Missing in All of Mexico and Central America." "I have already asked for help from the National Prosecutor's Office and the search personnel, and I still haven't received any answers," he wrote in October 2025.
The Search Commission for Missing Persons of the State of Jalisco issued the official notice one week after the disappearance, on October 11, 2025, with the physical description of the young man: 170 cm tall, fair skin, straight short black hair, slim build, and multiple tattoos on his arms, legs, and chest. Anyone with information can call 33 3145 6314 or write to comisiondebusqueda@jalisco.gob.mx.
Mayeta Labrada noted that Nelson's former boss — allegedly the owner of several businesses in Puerto Vallarta — could be key to clarifying the last steps of the missing person, although she did not identify him by name.
The case is part of a broader crisis of missing Cubans in Mexico, where Jalisco has recorded over 16,000 missing persons as of March 31, 2026, including at least 131 foreigners among them.
Puerto Vallarta has been identified as an area of influence for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which El País describes as a "disappearance corridor" that connects the coast with other regions of the state.
Other Cuban individuals reported missing in Mexico have faced similarly uncertain fates, in a context where many lack proper documentation and their families, trapped on the Island, are unable to travel to search for them. The case of a Cuban mother searching for her son missing in Mexico reflects a pattern that repeats with painful frequency.
Mayeta Labrada concluded her text with a phrase that encapsulates the situation of Iriannis Aguilar and so many other Cuban families: "A mother doesn't need rumors. She needs answers."
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