On what would have been the 42nd birthday of her brother Yassel Díaz Vázquez, who passed away in the explosion at the Saratoga hotel in Havana, Thalía López published a message this Saturday on that blends the pain of mourning with a demand for justice that the Cuban regime has been ignoring for more than four years.
"Today my brother Yassel Díaz would be turning 42. But he was a victim of the explosion at the Saratoga hotel. We never imagined that his workplace would be the most dangerous," wrote Thalía, whose post summarizes the plea of a family that is still seeking answers.
Yassel was 37 years old when he died on May 6, 2022, when a liquefied petroleum gas leak during refueling from a tanker truck caused an explosion that partially destroyed the seven-story hotel building, located on Paseo del Prado, across from the Havana Capitol.
He had been working at that establishment for approximately a decade, managed by the Gaviota group, which is associated with the Cuban Armed Forces.
Her sister recalled that he was a trained professional in languages, creator of the cocktail "Saratoga 500," and responsible for attending to international public figures during his time there.
Thalía asked if it's normal for a hotel to explode and no one gives a response.
He warned that his family's silence should not be interpreted as acceptance: "Let no one confuse our silence with forgetting or resignation. Remembering is also demanding justice. Because his life had immeasurable value, and no family should have to learn to live with such a devastating loss without truth, without answers, and without legal accountability being established."
The young woman emphasized that they are not asking for vengeance, but for justice, truth, and clarification of what happened. "Because the passage of time does not erase the facts, nor does it bring back the lost lives."
And he concluded with a phrase that summarizes four years of waiting: "Justice should not depend on the passage of time, the silence that is kept, or the pain a family can endure."
The Saratoga explosion resulted in 47 deaths and 99 injuries, including four minors, a pregnant woman, and over 25 hotel workers.
Four and a half years after the tragedy, the Cuban government has not published a complete technical report on the causes nor any judicial sentences against those responsible.
The International Labour Organization intervened in April 2024, following a complaint from the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba, and called for the investigation to be concluded and sanctions to be determined. However, to date, there are no publicly verifiable results.
The 22 families of the adjacent building at Prado 609, displaced since May 2022, also had not been able to return to their homes by May 2025, when the construction was only in the foundation stage.
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