Father of Missing Cuban Child in Venezuela Urges Renewed Search Efforts: "Every Moment Matters"

The father of 10-year-old Dayan Martínez, a Cuban child from Melena del Sur, Mayabeque, has made a heartfelt plea from Venezuela for authorities to urgently resume search operations. His son remains trapped under the rubble of a building since the devastating earthquakes on June 24.

Journalist Jany González shared the father's emotional appeal through a video on her Facebook page, which has garnered over 13,000 views.

"Dayan Martínez's father, the 10-year-old Cuban boy missing after the earthquakes in Venezuela, urgently calls on authorities to restart search efforts at the Coral Beach building in Los Corales, La Guaira state. The family is pleading for a swift resumption of the search. Every moment matters," she wrote.

According to the father's account to the journalist, on Sunday night, a team of American rescuers entered the building equipped with thermal cameras, detecting potential signs of life in the area believed to house the child.

Some members of the rescue team reported hearing footsteps and voices within the collapsed structure. However, just as they were about to begin extraction, a 4.6 magnitude aftershock struck, activating the team's safety protocols.

Maryerit Arcia, the boy's aunt, elaborated, "When they were about to start the rescue mission for the children, a 4.6 earthquake occurred. Due to their safety protocols, they cannot enter the area again for three hours if there is no more seismic activity."

After the American team withdrew, a Venezuelan group took over the operation but left around 2:00 a.m., concluding there were no longer signs of life, with a promise to return in the morning.

By the time the video was shared, no team had returned. When the journalist inquired if any rescuers were currently working on-site, the father's response was emphatic: "There's nobody there."

Visibly distressed, the aunt implored the journalist: "Please, publish this video. The family is desperate, as are those present who see lives trapped after many days and can do nothing."

Dayan's case is part of a larger family tragedy. His sister Vanessa Martínez and a cousin were confirmed dead on June 27, three days following the earthquakes. Both lived with their father—a Cuban doctor who stayed in Venezuela after a mission—in the Coral Beach building. The children's mother resides in Cuba.

Journalist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez shared upon Vanessa's death: "Today, the town of Melena del Sur mourns Vanessa and prays for the safe return of her brother, still missing under the rubble."

The Martínez siblings' ordeal is part of a broader, tragic context. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) acknowledged the death of a Cuban in Venezuela due to the earthquakes' devastation.

The victim, Lupercio Adrian D’Pérez y Pando, lived in Caraballeda, Vargas, since 2021, as per his Facebook profile.

At least 32 Cubans were reported missing in Venezuela, according to citizen platforms like Encuéntralos and monitoring by elToque, with concentrations in Caraballeda, Catia La Mar, and Los Corales.

The earthquakes on June 24, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 just 39 seconds apart, stand as the most powerful recorded in Venezuela since 1900.

The official death toll is 1,719, with over 5,034 injured, while the UN estimates up to 50,000 people missing nationwide. Funvisis has recorded more than 400 aftershocks since the catastrophe began.