Two young Cubans lost their lives drowning in the waters of the municipality of Sandino, in the westernmost part of Pinar del Río, during an operation involving the illegal trafficking of people destined for Cancun, Mexico.
The fact was revealed by the Facebook profile “Of Scoundrels and Their Scoundrel Acts,” which is aligned with the official narrative and connected to events in that western province.
The source did not mention the names of the victims.
What is known about what happened?
According to the news report, a small fast boat, equipped with a single engine, illegally entered Cuban waters near the area of Manuel Lazo ("Cayuco") in Sandino, "with the intention of carrying out an illegal human trafficking operation."
On board were three young individuals acting as crew members "without the necessary maritime experience to undertake a journey of this nature," and subsequently 13 other people were embarked with destination to Cancun.
During the navigation, the engine experienced a malfunction.
The crew members attempted to return to the coast, but "near Los Paredones, in the coastal area of El Uberal south of Sandino, several of the people on board jumped into the sea in a desperate attempt to save their lives and reach the shore."
Two young people didn't make it.
The three "lancheros" have been arrested and will be brought before the courts.
A comment on the post itself reveals a significant detail.
“The people recovered the bodies, the fishermen united, and economic agents purchased oil to be able to search for the bodies,” which indicates that the search was not conducted exclusively by state authorities.
The official framework and its contradictions
The publication frames the tragedy as a consequence of human trafficking and the American embargo, and calls for not "manipulating" the situation for political purposes.
It is the same pattern that state media like Juventud Rebelde applied regarding the sinking of a boat in Bahía Honda in October 2022, when the MININT classified that episode as a human trafficking operation while survivors and family members rejected that version.
However, the comments under the post contradict that perspective. "I didn't see a single comment about the poor government of Cuba, about the suffocating measures of a government that calls itself socialist. You have to be very thick-skinned to blame others and not the real culprits of the suffering in that country," wrote a user.
Another added, "If Cuba weren't in the situation it is, they wouldn't force people to do what they do. I risked my life just to be able to give my family a slightly better life."
A third testimony, from someone who claims to have known the victims, was particularly strong:
"Don't try to do politics. What happened was horrible; they were my friends. I came in with my little girl, went in with the mindset of either making it or dying. No one forced me; I did it because I wanted to give her a better future."
Several users pointed to the impossibility of emigrating through legal channels.
"And another thing: you apply for the passport and it never arrives. So, where are they going to go?"; "When a people emigrate, their government isn't doing well"; and "Two children lost their lives trying to have a better life."
A tragedy in the context of the massive exodus
The death of these two young individuals is part of an unprecedented migration crisis.
More than 245,000 Cubans emigrated in 2025, and over 50% of those leaving the island are under 35 years old.
In 2024, at least 142 Cuban rafters died while attempting to reach the United States, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The route to Cancun is one of the busiest: this month, a federal court in Miami sentenced a member of a network to 25 years in prison for trafficking Cubans between the island, Mexico, and South Florida, with court documents indicating about 25 deaths during the journeys orchestrated by that organization.
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