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Relatives of Vanessa Martínez, a Cuban girl from Melena del Sur in the province of Mayabeque, confirmed to Martí Noticias this Saturday the discovery of her lifeless body in Venezuela, three days after the devastating earthquakes that struck the country.
Alongside Vanessa, her cousin was also found dead, according to family members. Both had been missing since the earthquakes on June 24, which destroyed over 100 buildings in La Guaira state, where they lived.
The two minors lived with their father in the Coral Beach building, located in the Los Corales area of La Guaira, one of the regions most devastated by the collapse of structures. The father is a Cuban doctor who completed a mission in Venezuela and chose to remain in the country. The children's mother resides in Cuba.
While the Melena del Sur community mourns the loss of Vanessa and her cousin, the search for Dayan Martínez —Vanessa's brother— remains ongoing. The boy is still missing under the rubble, and his loved ones hold on to the hope of finding him alive.
"The town of Melena del Sur mourns Vanessa today and prays for the safe return of her little brother, who remains missing under the rubble," wrote journalist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez upon confirming the discovery of the body.
The two missing Cuban children had been reported on June 26 by journalist Daniel Benítez, who noted that "they were last seen in this building" and urgently requested information from anyone who might have it.
The earthquakes on June 24, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, occurred just 39 seconds apart and had their epicenter in the state of Yaracuy. The United States Geological Survey classified them as the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900. The official death toll stands at 1,430 fatalities and over 3,360 injured, while the UN is working with unofficial figures of up to 50,000 missing across the country.
This Saturday, a replica with a magnitude of 4.8 shook Venezuela again, keeping families on edge as they continue to search for their loved ones among the rubble.
At least 32 Cubans were reported missing in Venezuela according to citizen platforms like Encuéntralos and monitoring by elToque, concentrated in Caraballeda, Catia La Mar, and Los Corales. However, the Cuban regime claimed to have no confirmation of nationals affected by the earthquakes.
Ana Teresita González Fraga, the director general of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, stated this Saturday that "So far we do not have official confirmation of compatriots injured, deceased, or missing," despite families already reporting deaths.
The stance generated criticism for its contradiction with citizen data and for following the historical pattern of opacity of the regime in response to tragedies affecting Cubans abroad.
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