Landy Rodríguez Hernández and Assel Herrera Correa, the Cuban doctors who have been kidnapped in Kenya since 2019would have lost their lives during a drone bombing carried out by the United States against the extremist group Al-Shabaab, which deprived the doctors of their freedom for more than four years.
The alleged death of the Cubans was shared on the extremist militia’s Telegram channel, where they indicated that the attack would have occurred at a base of the group located in the city of Jilib, Somalia, last Thursday, February 15.
As alleged proof, the channel shared photographs that allegedly show one of the doctors dead, however, the news has not been officially confirmed.
Castro’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez replied to the information, emphasizing that it was from “unofficial sources”, so the veracity of the data could not be confirmed.
“In the last few hours, unofficial sources have reported the death in a bombing last Thursday, February 15, of the Cuban doctors, Dr. Assel Herrera Correa and Dr. Landy Rodríguez Hernández, kidnapped in the community of Mandera, Kenya, the April 12, 2019,” reads a statement shared by the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
In the last few hours, unofficial sources have reported the death in a bombing last Thursday, February 15, of the Cuban doctors, Dr. Assel Herrera Correa and Dr. Landy Rodríguez Hernández, kidnapped in the community of Mandera, Kenya, on February 12. April 2019.
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— Chancellery of Cuba (@CubaMINREX) February 17, 2024
The Castro authorities indicated that the information, until now, has not been able to be corroborated, but that they were in constant communication with their counterparts in Kenya and Somalia. Likewise, they promised to inform the people if this event is confirmed.
“So far, this information has not been confirmed. In this regard, the Cuban authorities remain in permanent communication with their Kenyan and Somali counterparts, and our people will be immediately informed,” the Foreign Ministry indicated in a second tweet.
So far, this information has not been confirmed. In this regard, the Cuban authorities remain in permanent communication with their Kenyan and Somali counterparts, and our people will be immediately informed.
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— Chancellery of Cuba (@CubaMINREX) February 17, 2024
For now, the only evidence is the texts shared by the extremist group Al-Shabaab, which held the United States responsible for the death of the doctors they kidnapped in 2019 and had held captive to treat their wounded.
While the photographs shared by Al-Shabaab bear a strong resemblance to one of the doctors, it is difficult to confirm their veracity, and if they were, it would be very difficult to determine when they were taken.
If all this information is true, This would mark the end of a bitter chapter for the doctors’ familieswho suffered after learning that they had been kidnapped on the border between Somalia and Kenya during an international mission.
For years, the Cuban government assured that it had been doing everything possible to guarantee his return home, but after several years of being unable to do anything, the regime was criticized for the way in which it practically abandoned the doctors they themselves sent to African territory.
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