On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the United States Government denied its responsibility in the alleged death of the Cuban doctors Assel Herrera and Landy Rodríguezkidnapped in April 2019 in Kenya by the jihadist group Al-Shabab and later transferred to Somalia.
In it «Quarterly Civilian Casualty Assessment Report» in charge of the US Military Command in Africa, the military authorities of the northern country assured that the bombing that occurred near the Somali Jilib territory – where the doctors are believed to have died on February 15, 2024 – did not cause the death of civilians.
Although the report does not make explicit reference to Cuban doctors, the US version differs from that offered by Al-Shabab. On February 17, on a Telegram channel that is associated with the terrorist group affiliated with Al Qaeda – whose authenticity could not be verified by the touch―, it emerged that Assel Herrera and Landy Rodríguez lost their lives in the air attack carried out by the United States.
The statement stated that «American Crusaders carried out multiple drone attacks on the city of Jilib», which had caused the death of two Cuban prisoners immediately.
The statements were accompanied by a photograph showing one of the alleged bodies. Al-Shabab’s version was not confirmed by the governments of Somalia, Kenya and Cuba.
Surgeon Landy Rodríguez and general medicine specialist Assel Herrera were captured in Mandera, a Kenyan city bordering Somalia. Despite the high danger of the area, which was a target of attacks by the jihadist group, both doctors carried out one of the medical missions promoted by the Antillean Government there.
Although the island’s regime has maintained great opacity around the case, with few public statements, in April 2024 accused the United States not to respond with «the seriousness or urgency required» to their requests to clarify what happened to Rodríguez and Herrera.
Less than two months before Havana demanded answers from Washington, Esteban Lazo, the president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, traveled to the Kenyan capital. However, the meeting on February 22, 2024 with William Ruto, head of state of the African nation, did not shed light on the whereabouts of the doctors sent to Kenya in 2018.
Among the few news items published in the five years since the capture, a meeting held in May 2019 between traditional leaders from Kenya and Somalia in the Somali Jubaland region (controlled by Al-Shabab) stands out with the aim of negotiating the release of the doctors. On that occasion, the captors demanded 1.5 million dollars to return them to freedom. according to the German media D.W.. Havana’s response to the conditions imposed by the Islamic extremist movement is unknown.
A week after the alleged jihadist announcement accusing the United States of the death of health workers, the Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel sent a message of “solidarity” and “affection” to the doctors’ relatives and expressed that the Cuban authorities were working to clarify what happened.
For his part, Bruno Rodríguez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the island, reported in his count of about a telephone conversation with his Somali counterpart Ali Mohamed Omar. «We talk about the necessary cooperation to clarify the current situation of our beloved doctors Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodríguez Hernández»said the chancellor, although he did not specify the terms of the «cooperation».
In accordance with data of the Ministry of Public Health, until the end of 2023 more than 22,400 Cuban collaborators provide services in 59 countries. The organization Cuba Archive in its 2023 report titled «Overview of Trafficking in Persons in Cuba’s Medical Brigades» (Overview of human trafficking in Cuba’s medical brigades), considers “missions” as forms of forced labor and has denounced the restrictions that aid workers face regarding fundamental rights such as mobility or freedom of expression.
He disciplinary regulations internal policy for medical collaborators—implemented from Resolution 368 of 2020 of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment—recognizes the right of collaborators to “receive information about the characteristics, habits and customs of the country where they will provide their services.” However, the normative It does not express a government commitment to inform about the possible risks that doctors would face in their destinations.
If you are interested in legal topics, you can visit our project elTOQUE Jurídico, in which you will find analysis and debates about the laws, rights and legal processes in Cuba.
Also follow us on Twitter: @eltoquejuridico
