Leobel has been without sleep or food for a week. From Mexico, where he works in construction to reunite with his family, this Cuban waits for a call that has not come: the one that will confirm that his two-year-old twin sons, Leosdel and Leosniel, are alive.
The little ones disappeared along with 17 other people —including their mother and five other minors— after departing on a vessel from Pinar del Río on Tuesday, August 11, and all communication was lost hours later.
The journalist Mario Vallejo reported on the case and interviewed Leobel exclusively, a conversation that starkly reveals a father's desperation, to whom the authorities only offer silence.
The last signal: 5:30 PM on August 11
The vessel —of Mexican origin— departed around two in the afternoon from the Cuyo area in Pinar del Río. On board were 12 adults and seven minors heading to Mexico.
The last communication that Leobel had with those on board was at 5:30 PM that same day.
In the interview, Leobel revealed that the engine was already experiencing failures before losing contact and that the vessel had run out of fuel.
The supplies were scarce: two cases of water, cookies, a case of soda, two cases of juice, and two cases of milk.
"Without life, without knowing where to go."
Leobel has been in Mexico for almost a year, working in construction from seven in the morning until six in the evening every day to be able to reunite with his family. That effort accumulated over months suddenly turned into an unbearable wait.
“I don’t know. Me, without life... I don’t even know what to do in Puerto Loco. What one wants most in life are children, tell me about it. People in the family like this don’t even know what to do. Desperate, not knowing where to go, where to turn.”, he confessed.
He assured that the anguish does not allow him to rest or eat.
"Neither sleep nor eat; the only thing I'm having is soda, nothing else. I can't sleep. I sleep with the phone right there on the bed, on the headboard, and I'm awake the whole time. No one can catch some sleep while thinking, and you can't eat anything knowing that your children have nothing to eat." He added.
When Vallejo asked Leobel if they tried to return to Cuba, he was firm, saying no, because they were already too far from Cuba: "No, no, no. We are already too far from Cuba."
Among the missing are the twins Leosdel and Leosniel, aged two, as well as their mother, Yusimy Garrobo Leiva, aged 35. All three are residents of the municipality of Vertientes, in Camagüey.
The response from the Mexican authorities
Leobel went through the offices of the Mexican Coast Guard and Border Patrol in search of answers, but to no avail.
“I have been everywhere here. I went to the Border Guard, Coastal. They called those people and the only thing they told me is that I have to wait. To be patient, but to put themselves in my place to see who can be patient,” he recounted.
The feeling of being ignored for being a foreigner also surfaced. "You go one way, they tell you one thing, and when you go the other way, they send you back. They never give you news, they don’t provide answers, they don’t say anything. Since you’re not from this country, it seems they have to deny you the same thing, I don’t know," he lamented.
A plea to the U.S. Coast Guard.
In light of the lack of results from the Mexican authorities, Leobel made a direct appeal to the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates in the Gulf area.
"If they could at least help me with those possibilities, to be able to reunite with my family, to take a moment to put themselves in my shoes to see how it feels, to understand that no human being can bear that weight," he requested.
And he summarized all his anguish in a single sentence: “I don’t care if they’re sent back, all I want is for them to be safe.”
A relative of other missing persons, interviewed by Martí Noticias, confirmed details about what happened.
Yunaidy Martínez Ramírez, a Havana native living in Cancun, whose husband and three young children are among the missing, explained that one of the engines broke down and that later on, they lost the remaining fuel due to an accidental spill, after they had already covered more than half of the journey.
According to his testimony, the boatman attempted to continue the journey under sail after the breakdown.
"My whole family is on the boat. It's a vessel that was in good condition, but one of the engines broke down and then they ran out of fuel more than halfway because it spilled. The boatman said they would try to sail... They brought food, but after so many days I fear they may have run out," stated Martínez Ramírez.
Yunaidy Martínez's account aligns with Leobel's complaints. The woman stated that during the first few days, she was sent from one place to another and that family members had to personally insist to the authorities to obtain information.
"The Coast Guard always tells me the same thing: that they are searching without results. In the first few days, they kept bouncing me back and forth. The father of the twins and I had to go to the main base; if we don't call, they don't tell us anything," he revealed to the press.
"They have helicopters and boats to search by air and sea; they should make the search faster. I am desperate, going crazy, on the verge of searching for them myself," she added.
The Mexican Navy admits that it has not located the vessel
The Guard of Permanence of the V Naval Region of the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), based in Isla Mujeres, confirmed to Martí Noticias that naval authorities are aware of the case, but they say that so far they have been unable to locate the vessel.
"The search and rescue naval stations in the jurisdiction have been alerted by RN 5, awaiting further information about the case. The captaincies and all the search and rescue naval stations regarding the vessel are informed," declared an official from the entity to the mentioned media outlet.
The official added that the vessels operating in the area have been trying to locate the missing individuals, but so far they have not been able to spot them.
A particularly concerning fact is that, according to the response provided by the official to Martí Noticias, helicopters from the Search, Rescue, and Maritime Surveillance Stations (ENSAR) had not been deployed to locate the Cubans.
"They have not been deployed; that is already determined by the naval command," the officer replied when specifically asked about the use of those aerial resources.
As of the closure of this report, there is no additional information regarding the case.
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