After 43 days of searching through the rubble, the Cuban Mabel Hernández, a resident of Venezuela, confirmed that the bodies of her parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephews have finally been found and identified, who died in the devastating earthquakes that struck the northern part of the country on June 24.
"Mission accomplished," wrote the woman while announcing the painful outcome of a search she had documented for weeks on her social media.
"Having found the bodies of my family, it was 43 days of tireless searching. I can only thank God for the process, thank Him for the strength He gave me to be able to find and identify each one," Mabel expressed on August 6 on Facebook.
The Cuban woman, who had clung to her faith during this entire time while hoping to be reunited with her loved ones, recalled the promise she had made after the tragedy.
"'Mission accomplished,' Heavenly Father. As I told you, I will honor them, and I won't stop until I find them," he wrote.
His six relatives were buried under the rubble of a building in Naiguatá, La Guaira state, during the earthquakes on June 24.
Mabel survived the disaster alongside her husband, Pastor Hernán Ramos, and their son Yosdany Quintana. Since then, she has been waiting for more than six weeks, marked by the uncertainty of not knowing when she would be able to recover her family's remains.
In her publications, she documented the emotional strain caused by a search that seemed endless.
On July 24, exactly one month after the tragedy, I was still waiting for news.
"One month since the earthquake, we still haven't had their bodies, I still can't believe it, I think it's a nightmare. It has been a heavy blow, I feel like something has been ripped out from inside me," he wrote on Facebook back then.
Four days later, the pain remained unchanged.
"Days when I feel very strong, days when I feel very depressed. But I know that God will help me to move forward, just as He always has. I know He will rebuild me, for I am in pieces," she confessed on July 28.
Finally, on August 6, the news arrived that had been awaited for 43 days. It was not the outcome that any family would have desired, but at least it brought an end to the uncertainty and allowed them to recover and identify their loved ones.
Now another process begins for Mabel: saying goodbye to them.
After announcing the discovery, the Cuban posted a second message in which she requested assistance from the Cuban consulate in Venezuela to relocate her parents' ashes to the island.
His brother, his sister-in-law, and his nephews will remain in Venezuela.
"My brother, his wife, and children will be together in a cemetery here in Venezuela," he explained.
Mabel's case became one of the most closely followed among the Cuban community affected by the earthquakes, particularly hard hit in the coastal areas of La Guaira state.
More than 32 Cubans were initially reported missing following the disaster.
The lack of information about their destinations also led to criticism of the Cuban authorities. On June 27, three days after the earthquakes, the regime stated that it still did not have "official confirmation" of deceased compatriots, while relatives and independent media were already reporting victims and missing persons.
By July 3rd, at least eight Cubans had been reported as deceased.
Among the stories that shook the Cuban community was also that of six members of a Cuban family. Their bodies were recovered on June 29 from the rubble of the Oasis Beach and Resjurel buildings in Playa Grande.
The magnitude of the tragedy continues to unfold weeks after the earthquakes.
The official report released on August 3rd raised the number of fatalities to 6,125 and the injured to more than 16,700, as reported by the President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. This disaster is already among the deadliest recorded in Venezuela in over a century.
While the authorities continue to count the victims and numerous families await news of their missing loved ones, at least part of Mabel Hernández’s agony has come to an end.
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