NAIROBI, Kenya – Cuba is presently awaiting official reports on the health conditions of Dr. Landy Rodriguez and Dr. Assel Herrera, kidnapped in April 2019 by a terrorist group on the Kenya-Somalia border.
On Saturday, Cuban authorities explained they are in communication with their counterparts in both African countries to check information published by unofficial sources about the alleged death of the two doctors during a U.S. bombing on February 15.
On X, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel expressed his solidarity with the doctors´ relatives and cleared up his country is presently working so hard with international authorities to clarify this fact.
“Cuba does not lose hope of finding them alive. We will do so as long as there is no official confirmation they are dead,” the Cuban leader stated.
Díaz-Canel reiterated his admiration for the strength of both families, with whom he had talked on previous occasions about the arrangements for the return of the health professionals.
The president also said that Assel and Landy represent the noble and generous spirit of a people who share even what they do not have with the humility of the earth.
Later in a press conference, Cuba´s Public Health Minister José Ángel Portal assured that the Cuban authorities made contact directly with the families upon learning of their presumed death.
“When we have more information about the unfortunate incident, the families and the Cuban people will be informed immediately,” Portal promised.
He recalled that the Cuban government has been making great efforts for their return since the two doctors were kidnapped by the Somali group Al-Shabaab while carrying out their medical mission in the Kenyan city of Mandera.
In April 2021, the Cuban president held talks with his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, on strategies for the return of health professionals.
