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The former spy René González Sehwerert, president of the Club de Aviación de Cuba (CAC), directly intervened in the comments of the official statement published on Facebook following the death of a 12-year-old boy during a tandem paragliding flight in Isla de la Juventud on Saturday, July 5.
The minor, identified as Alejandro and residing in the Abel Santamaría neighborhood, died after a strong gust of wind carried the paraglider out to sea, and the aircraft landed in the water about 500 meters from the shore, near the MININT beach in the Cayo Los Monos area.
In response to a user's question about what a child was doing in that type of activity, González defended the practice and provided a revealing statistic: "It is the first fatality of the CAC in 15 years, during which there have been 60 thousand tandem jumps, along with thousands of flights in paramotors and paragliders, including hundreds of minors."
The former spy also responded to those who criticized the pilot.
In response to a user's comment stating that "the pilot prioritized his life over the child's," González urged against hasty judgments: "Releasing the harnesses is essential to assist the passenger; otherwise, the equipment could drag both of them. It needs to be determined whether all protocols were followed to ensure it was carried out safely."
To another user who questioned the delay in reporting the accident, González responded that "we must inform what is certain; otherwise, it creates confusion."
The official statement from the CAC described that while trying to free himself from the harnesses in the water, the pilot "lost control of the passenger, who disappeared before the pilot could prevent it."
The body of the minor was located around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, after more than 21 hours of intense searching, according to the website NiO Reportando un Crimen, citing a source close to the family.
The CAC announced that a joint commission with the Cuban Civil Aeronautics Institute (IACC) will depart this Tuesday for the Isle of Youth to join the investigation and assess the legal, technical, and safety aspects of the flight.
The club closed its statement with a message of condolences to the family of the minor and specified that "the final results of the investigation will be made public once it is concluded."
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