Cuban killed in Russian drone bombing in Ukraine lies in mass grave

young cuba Raebel Palacio HerreraThe man, who was reportedly killed in a drone strike in January after being recruited by Russia for the war in Ukraine, was buried in a mass grave without ceremony or flags, the family condemned.

Palacio’s wife, Melissa Flores, who received promises that the body would be returned to Cuba, told the American newspaper wall street journal That the young man was buried without any ceremony.

Through a friend of her partner, who was recruited by Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine, the woman learned that “Raibel had been shot in the leg by a drone and died while trying to wear a tourniquet. She was drenched in blood and died.”

“They told me they buried him in a common grave, without any ceremony or flag,” he insisted.

In January, Flores and the recruit’s mother revealed that the just-21-year-old was tricked into moving to Russia after they had only told him he would go to the battlefield to build trenches against Ukraine.

However, in one of the audios, the youth said they had been cheated, but upon reaching there, the victim told them they had been cheated: “These people are cheating us. We thought one thing and it turned out to be something else,” he said. Audio.

wall street journal His article describes how Russia recruits soldiers from Cuba to fight in Ukraine; and states that “Cubans eager to escape the poverty of the communist island enlisted in the Russian army.”

Palacio Herrera traveled to Russia in November and Flores gave birth to a child in December, leaving the young man unable to meet.

The recruit’s mother had been demanding the return of her son’s body to Cuba and had received a promise from an alleged Russian general who said Palacio Herrera had died after being hit by a Ukrainian drone in an attack where He had another associate. also seriously injured

He assured them that the body would be returned to the island, but the family reported that no officials had contacted the Cuban embassy in Moscow.

mother kept asking where was his son’s body,

A cousin of the victim said that the alleged contract given to the recruited youth mentioned money which even the family had not seen.

He said in a Facebook post, “This is all a lie, please I want those involved with recruitment to get what they deserve, because of them a family is devastated today without news of our bereaved criminal.”

On January 10, the death of another Cuban recruited in the Russian army also came to light. Another victim of human trafficking between Havana and Moscow was 26-year-old young boxer Yancel Morejón.

In September last year, complaints from relatives revealed that Russia was recruiting youths from the island and sending them to the war front in Ukraine.

The Havana regime said it did not support mercenaries and was committed to dismantling the alleged smuggling network in which several Cuban officials and diplomats were involved; But recruitment has continued as shown by the case of Palacio Herrera, who was recruited in November.

Last September, a Russian official confirmed in statements on condition of anonymity that a number of Cubans are on the front lines as part of international battalions fighting in the war in Ukraine.

“When I was already behind the tape in the battalion, I, to put it mildly, was in shock: there were only Cubans and Serbs. Not everyone speaks Russian well. It is not clear that with them How to work. And these are not some PMCs, all are under contract with the Ministry of Defence,” the soldier said in the statement. The Moscow Times,

This information was confirmed in the above media by a Spanish translator working with Cuban emigration, who confirmed that a number of Cubans were recruited by the Russian Defense Ministry.

Another Russian official interviewed by the outlet in September said, “It is possible that Cuban citizens are being recruited on the basis of cost, because they are cheap.” Intercept,

Despite this, two weeks ago it emerged that the Cuban regime had begun releasing members of a group of 17 people who were accused of being part of a recruitment network on the island of mercenaries for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in September 2023. Was arrested as. As it turns out America TV,

The above media outlets announced that two Cuban citizens, Yasiel Yera and Rafael Albarez, whom media sources in Cuba identified as among those detained in Santa Clara in September, are free.