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The Cuban government confirmed the death of a national in Venezuela as a result of the devastating earthquakes on June 24, according to a statement by Ana Teresita González Fraga, Director General of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Residing Abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), in a post shared on Facebook.
The victim was named Lupercio Adrian D’Pérez y Pando, who, according to his Facebook profile, had been living in the city of Caraballeda, in the state of Vargas, since 2021.
The official extended her condolences to family and friends.
"We continue tirelessly in our search for information with Venezuelan authorities, the Association of Cubans, our collaborators, and other organizations to confirm other compatriots who have died or disappeared," he added.
The MINREX has activated the phone number 7 8321484 so that families in Cuba can report the situation of their loved ones in the South American country.
"Cubans residing in Venezuela can do so through the phones of the Cuban Consulate: 02129914635 / 04123332625," the post concludes.
This official recognition comes days after MINREX itself denied having information about those affected.
Last Saturday, González Fraga herself stated: "So far, we do not have official confirmation of compatriots injured, deceased or missing," a stance that contradicted citizen reports that had already documented more than 30 missing Cubans.
The confirmation of this death comes when families have already taken action on their own.
On June 27, relatives confirmed the discovery of the lifeless body of the Cuban girl Vanessa Martínez, originally from Melena del Sur, Mayabeque, along with that of her cousin, both residents of the Coral Beach building in Los Corales, La Guaira state.
Vanessa's brother, Dayan Martínez, remains missing under the debris of that same building. The two minors lived with their father, a Cuban doctor who decided to stay in Venezuela after completing an official mission; their mother resides in Cuba.
More Cubans are still missing. A family of at least six members -including Alain Rodríguez Rojas, Teresa Rojas Rodríguez, and four other relatives- has been reported missing in the Oasis Beach and Resjurel buildings in La Guaira.
Also sought is Dr. Lázara Yumara Villaurrutia Rodríguez, 35 years old and from Matanzas, along with her husband and their seven-month-old baby, following the collapse of the Cumanagoto building.
Among the missing is also Lupercio Pérez, a 55-year-old Cuban, reported in the Costa Caribe area since June 24, according to the citizen platform Encuéntralos. Other cases include Ady Zaldívar (64 years old), Olivia Hernández Pérez (28 years old, psychologist), Michel Luis Curbelo Moreira (34 years old, physiotherapist), and Arístides Peralta Pérez (58 years old, boxing coach), among several others.
The seismic doublet with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, centered in the state of Yaracuy, is the most powerful recorded in Venezuela since 1900, according to the United States Geological Survey. The official Venezuelan death toll has reached at least 1,450, with more than 3,238 injured, while the UN estimates that up to 50,000 people are missing across the country.
Cuba sent an Special Rescue and Salvage Brigade to join international efforts, involving more than 25 teams from 17 countries. The MINREX has set up the phone number 7 8321484 for relatives in Cuba to report the situation of their loved ones in Venezuela.
The platform Encuéntralos recorded 77,913 missing persons across the country this Monday, a number that reflects the magnitude of a disaster that has yet to reveal its worst side.
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