Cuba is in contact with the governments of Kenya and Somalia to confirm the status of doctors Landy Rodriguez Hernandez and Assel Herrera Correa, said to have been killed during an air raid on Thursday.
The painful information came from unofficial sources and is yet to be confirmed, according to Cuban Minister of Public Health José Ángel Portal Miranda, who stressed that government and other authorities have spared no efforts to rescue, and been constantly in contact with, the families of both doctors, kidnapped on April 12, 2019 while carrying out their duties as health workers in the Kenyan city of Mandera by the Somalia-based group Al-Shabaab.
Portal Miranda remarked that Cuba has even reached out to other governments and personalities who have also cooperated to ensure the release of the two doctors.
He referred to his communication this Saturday with Rodriguez Hernandez’s and Herrera Correa’s families to make them aware of the rumors currently going around on the Internet and assured them that they and the Cuban people will be informed as soon as any news are received.
Assel and Landy have been among the more than 600,000 health workers deployed in 165 nations throughout six decades as part of Cuba’s solidarity work and deserve all our respect and recognition, the Minister pointed out in his statement.
