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Three days after the devastating earthquakes that shook Venezuela, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX) stated this Saturday that it has no official confirmation of compatriots injured, deceased, or missing, a statement that directly contrasts with the reality documented on citizen search platforms.
Ana Teresita González Fraga, Director General of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Residing Abroad at MINREX, posted on her social media that Cuba "maintains constant contact with Venezuelan authorities, Cuban associations, and other organizations to understand the situation of Cubans residing in Venezuela," but that "so far we have no official confirmation of compatriots injured, deceased, or missing."
The official added that "once we obtain official data, we will provide information to family members" and activated the phone number 7 8321484 for those looking for a relative in Venezuela to report it.
However, the citizen platform Encuéntralos and the journalistic monitoring from elToque document more than 30 Cubans reported as missing, providing names, ages, and last known locations, with most concentrated in the state of La Guaira.
Among the most distressing cases are two missing Cuban children after the earthquakes: Vanessa Martínez and Dayan Martínez, originally from Melena del Sur, Mayabeque, who lived with their father —a Cuban doctor who stayed in Venezuela after completing a mission— in the Coral Beach building in Los Corales, La Guaira.
A Cuban family of at least six members is also missing —Alain Rodríguez Rojas, Teresa Rojas Rodríguez, Raudel Diosdado Rodríguez, Dylan Sander Rodríguez Yánez, Gladys María Padrón, and Yadina de la Caridad Yánez Linares— in the Oasis Beach and Resjurel buildings in La Guaira.
The Cuban artist El Funky is seeking public assistance to locate Silvio René Garzón Molina, last seen in the Los Corales area of Caraballeda.
Among the Cuban individuals reported missing on search platforms are also Ady Zaldívar (64 years old, Caraballeda), Olivia Hernández Pérez (28 years old, Coral Park), Michel Luis Curbelo Moreira (34 years old, physiotherapist), Arístides Peralta Pérez (58 years old, boxing coach), and Yosdany Quintana (26 years old, tattoo artist), among others.
The seismic doublet of June 24 —with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, the most powerful recorded in Venezuela since 1900— resulted in at least 920 fatalities and more than 3,360 injuries according to the official report, while the UN estimates up to 50,000 missing persons across the country.
This Saturday, a 4.9 magnitude aftershock struck Venezuela again, further complicating the rescue efforts involving 25 teams from 17 countries.
The Cuban regime's attitude of denying confirmation of victims among its citizens abroad, while families desperately search for their loved ones through civilian platforms, follows a historical pattern of informational opacity in the face of disasters affecting Cubans outside the island.
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