This Wednesday marks the fourth anniversary of one of the worst industrial disasters in the history of Cuba: the fire that devastated the Supertanker Base in Matanzas on August 5, 2022, resulting in 17 deaths, over 130 injuries, and material losses estimated at 66 million dollars.
It all began on the evening of that Friday, when a lightning strike hit one of the fuel storage tanks in the Industrial Zone of the Bay of Matanzas. The flames spread to four of the eight supertankers and burned for six days.
The most lethal moment occurred in the early hours of August 6, when the second tank exploded while firefighters and support personnel were trying to cool it down.
Fourteen people disappeared in that explosion, consumed by temperatures ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 degrees Celsius.
Forensic experts recovered 754 bone fragments grouped into 14 sets, but Doctor Jorge González Pérez was categorical: “An absolute identification of the found remains has not been possible”.
The regime revealed the names of the 14 missing individuals on August 18, 2022, but omitted their ages. Among them were four conscripts of the Mandatory Military Service aged between 19 and 20 years: Leo Alejandro Doval Pérez de Prado, Fabián Naranjo Núñez, Michel Rodríguez Román, and Adriano Rodríguez Gutiérrez.
Leo Doval was only 19 years old and had been training as a firefighter for just 15 days. He dreamed of studying Medicine to become a neurosurgeon and had already prepared his uniform for his first day in Medical Sciences.
Her mother, Vivianne Pérez Prado, became one of the most heart-wrenching voices of the tragedy. "The greatest pain in this world is losing a child, not bringing them into this world. The greatest pain is burying their body, which I couldn't even do," she wrote on Facebook months later.
In another post, he recalled his son's shattered dreams: "How do I go on without seeing all your plans come to fruition, when you had already envisioned how you would go on that first day to Medical Sciences to become a Doctor of Medicine and a great Neurosurgeon?"
The young man's grandmother posed a question that no one in the regime has answered: "Who is going to take responsibility for taking those children there?"
The first two confirmed deaths were those of Juan Carlos Santana Garrido, a 60-year-old firefighter from Cienfuegos, and Elier Manuel Correa Aguilar, a 24-year-old professional firefighter who died in the hospital with "burns incompatible with life."
On October 3, 2022, Omar Ravelo, a 63-year-old tanker truck driver, passed away after never leaving the Calixto García Hospital in Havana, raising the official death toll to 17 victims.
Four years later, the regime has not held any officials accountable or imposed any sanctions, nor has it issued a conclusive report on the causes. Each year, it organizes tribute events with roll calls, sirens, and floral offerings, but without accepting any blame.
Opacity has been a constant since day one. The YouTuber Duanys Moreno, who streamed the fire live, was detained by state security on August 9, 2022.
"I was kidnapped by Major Muñiz, head of Counterintelligence in Matanzas. I was threatened there, and a prosecutor requested 8 years in prison," he reported after exiling in Miami. Moreno also reported that the lightning rod system was disconnected at the time of the incident.
As the mourning continues, the reconstruction is progressing slowly with the support of Chinese brigades. In April 2026, CUPET reported that one of the four new tanks was nearing the completion of its welding and painting work, although no definitive timelines were provided for recovering the lost capacity of 200,000 cubic meters.
Vivianne Pérez Prado continues to remember her son on social media. Her pain reflects that of dozens of Cuban families who lost their loved ones in a tragedy that the regime prefers to commemorate with flowers rather than explain with the truth.
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