Civilians who entered the military unit of Melones in Holguín without authorization discovered bodies in an advanced state of decomposition inside the tunnels where the January 7, 2025 explosion occurred, despite the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) having claimed for over a year that the conditions of the site prevented access to recover the remains of the 13 fallen soldiers.
The discovery occurred about a month ago and was revealed this Thursday by an investigation from the independent media elTOQUE, which gathered testimonies from the victims' families and sources from the community.
The information raises questions about the actions of the authorities following one of the most serious military tragedies that has occurred in Cuba in recent years and, above all, why the families have still not received the remains of their children.
The explosion and subsequent fire at the munitions storage facility resulted in 13 military personnel dead, including four officers and non-commissioned officers, and nine young men who were fulfilling their Mandatory Military Service.
Cuban authorities took nine days to officially declare them deceased, stating that the "extreme complexity" of the terrain, the buildup of gases, high temperatures, and the risk of new collapses made it impossible to continue operations.
The bodies were never returned to their families.
They entered looking for weapons and found bodies
Daliha González Almaguer, sister of Frank Antonio Hidalgo Almaguer, a 19-year-old recruit who died in the explosion, confirmed to elTOQUE that a group of civilians managed to access the restricted area in search of weapons and other materials that had been left behind.
What they found inside the tunnels called into question the explanation put forth by the authorities.
"A group of young men entered the area where the fire occurred to search for weapons, explosives, and other items left behind after the explosion, and they found bodies in a state of decomposition," González Almaguer reported.
According to what was explained, his family initially learned about what happened through people in the community. After demanding answers, representatives of the FAR came to their home and acknowledged that human remains had been found.
"People from the FAR came to our house and confirmed that some bodies have been found, but we do not yet have confirmation that one of them is Frank Antonio. They only visited two or three families of the victims (...) since then, more than a month ago, they have not provided any further information," he reported.
The family remains, therefore, in the same uncertainty that began in January 2025: they know that bodies were found, but they do not know if among them are the remains of Frank Antonio.
Gretel María Franco, mother of Leinier Jorge Sánchez Franco, another one of the recruits who died, at just 18 years old, received a similar communication from representatives of the FAR over a month ago.
Since then, she claims that she has not received any new explanations either.
"There are various comments on the street saying that they found them all, and also that on the fifth day of the search, a wall collapsed, and it was suspended. But they have not been able to provide any information," he declared to elTOQUE.
The mother directly questioned the contradiction between what the authorities said after the explosion and what has now been demonstrated with the entry of civilians.
The finding raises a particularly painful question for families: if a group of civilians was able to enter the tunnels and find the bodies, why did the military authorities insist for more than a year that they could not recover them?
So far, the FAR has not publicly provided an explanation.
The young people who found the remains have been detained
The civilians who entered the military facility were detained and remain incarcerated, according to family members of the victims and community sources consulted by elTOQUE.
According to the investigation, the Police have only stated that the case is still under investigation, without providing any information about possible charges against the detainees or where they are being held.
Unauthorized entry into a military facility and the alleged search for weapons are distinct elements from the discovery of the remains. However, it was precisely that incursion that would have revealed the presence of human remains within the tunnels, which could correspond to some of the victims.
"They never came to look for them."
The families' distrust of the official version did not begin with this discovery.
González Almaguer stated that from the first days following the explosion, they received contradictory information about when the efforts to recover the bodies would begin.
"They first told us that after 72 hours, which had previously been impossible. Then they said that after four days they would come in to recover the bodies. All lies. They never came to look for them," they reported.
His family also refused to allow the authorities to use Frank Antonio's photograph in official statements and in the posthumous tribute organized after the tragedy.
Other family members had publicly denounced the lack of responses since 2025.
Julio César Guerrero Batista, father of the recruit José Carlos Guerrero García, questioned since January 2025 whether all the necessary searches and investigations had been conducted to clarify what happened.
«I want my son's body! I want answers and justice!», she demanded at that time.
More than a year and a half later, that demand remains unanswered.
elTOQUE reached out to the Revolutionary Armed Forces to request their version regarding the discovery of the bodies and the detention of civilians who entered the tunnels, but did not receive a response by the time of publishing their investigation.
There has also been no public information regarding the identification of the remains or their delivery to the families.
The new discovery brings the families back to the point they have been demanding since January 2025. It is no longer just about knowing what caused the explosion or why nine recruits of the Mandatory Military Service ended up trapped in a military materials warehouse. They are now also demanding to know why civilians were able to reach bodies that the FAR claimed for more than a year they could not retrieve.
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