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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 had no official confirmation of compatriots injured, deceased, or missing, a statement that directly contradicts the reality documented on citizen search platforms.
Ana Teresita González Fraga, Director General of Consular Affairs and Assistance to Cubans Residing Abroad at MINREX, posted on her social media that Cuba "maintains ongoing contact with Venezuelan authorities, Cuban associations, and other organizations to assess the situation of Cubans residing in Venezuela," but that "so far we do not have official confirmation of any nationals injured, deceased, or missing."
The official added that "once we obtain official data, we will pass information to relatives" and provided the phone number 7 8321484 for those seeking a relative in Venezuela to report it.
However, the citizen platform Encuéntralos and the journalistic monitoring by El Toque document more than 30 Cubans reported as missing, including names, ages, and last known locations, most of whom are concentrated in the state of La Guaira.
Among the most heartbreaking cases are two missing Cuban children following the earthquakes: cousins Vanessa and Dayan Martínez, originally from Melena del Sur, Mayabeque, who lived in the Coral Beach building in Los Corales, La Guaira. The father of the 15-year-old girl is a Cuban doctor who stayed in Venezuela after completing a mission.
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 has publicly requested assistance in locating Silvio René Garzón Molina, who was last seen in the Los Corales area of Caraballeda.
Among the Cuban individuals reported missing on the 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 on June 24—with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900—has resulted in at least 920 deaths and over 3,360 injuries, according to the official count, while the UN estimates up to 50,000 missing across the country.
This Saturday, a replica measuring 4.9 shook Venezuela again, further complicating the rescue efforts involving 25 teams from 17 countries.
The attitude of the Cuban regime to deny confirmation of victims among its citizens abroad, while families desperately search for their loved ones through citizen platforms, follows a historical pattern of informational opacity by the Havana government in response to disasters affecting Cubans outside the island.
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