The father of Dayan Martínez, a 10-year-old Cuban boy from Melena del Sur (Mayabeque), made a desperate public plea from Venezuela for authorities to immediately resume search efforts at the site where the child has been missing under the rubble since the earthquakes on June 24.
The journalist Jany González published the father's testimony in a video on her Facebook wall, which has garnered over 13,000 views.
"The father of Dayan Martínez, the 10-year-old Cuban boy who went missing after the earthquakes in Venezuela, is making an urgent appeal to the authorities to resume the search efforts at the Coral Beach building in Los Corales, La Guaira state. The family pleads for the operations to restart as soon as possible. Every minute counts," he wrote.
According to the father’s account to the journalist, during the night on Sunday, a team of American rescuers entered the building with thermal cameras and detected possible signs of life in the area where the minor is believed to be located.
Some team members reported hearing footsteps and voices inside the collapsed structure.
However, just as the team was preparing to begin the extraction, a magnitude 4.6 aftershock shook the area and triggered the group's safety protocols.
The little one's aunt, Maryerit Arcia, explained: "When they are about to enter to carry out the mission to rescue the children, a tremor of 4.6 occurs at that moment. They say that due to the protocols they have for their work, for their safety, they cannot enter until three hours have passed again in the area, if there is no more seismic activity."
After the withdrawal of the American team, a Venezuelan group took over the operation but left the site around 2:00 AM, believing there were no longer any signs of life, promising to return in the morning.
At the time of the video’s publication, no team had returned. When the journalist asked the father if there were rescuers working in the building, his response was unequivocal: "There is no one there."
Visibly distressed, the aunt pleaded with the journalist: "I'm asking you, please, to publish this video. The family is desperate, both those here and those over there, who are witnessing lives at stake, who have been waiting for many days and can do nothing."
The case of Dayan is part of a devastating family tragedy.
Her sister Vanessa Martínez and her cousin were confirmed dead on June 27, three days after the earthquakes. Both lived with their father—a Cuban doctor who completed a mission in Venezuela and chose to stay in the country—in the Coral Beach building. The children's mother lives in Cuba.
Journalist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez wrote upon learning of Vanessa's death: "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."
The drama of the Martínez brothers fits into a larger picture.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of Cuba confirmed the death of a Cuban in Venezuela as a result of the devastating earthquakes.
The victim was named Lupercio Adrian D’Pérez y Pando, who according to his Facebook profile had been residing since 2021 in the city of Caraballeda, in the state of Vargas.
At least 32 Cubans were reported missing in Venezuela according to citizen platforms such as Encuéntralos and monitoring by elToque, primarily in Caraballeda, Catia La Mar, and Los Corales.
The earthquakes of June 24, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 occurring just 39 seconds apart, are considered the most powerful recorded in Venezuela since 1900.
The official toll rises to 1,719 deceased and over 5,034 injured, while the UN estimates up to 50,000 missing across the country. Funvisis has recorded more than 400 aftershocks accumulated since the onset of the disaster.
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