Father of Cuban Rafting Victim in 2022 Tragedy: "It's the Greatest Pain One Can Have"

Arturo Verdecia, the father of one of the Cuban rafters who perished in the deadly shipwreck in November 2022, claims he was deceived by the Florida woman detained last week and held responsible for the smuggling operation that resulted in 16 deaths, including several children. His son, also named Arturo Verdecia, was 30 years old when he lost his life in the ill-fated journey, which departed on November 16, 2022, from the town of Jaimanitas, in western Havana.

In an exclusive interview with Telemundo 51, Verdecia stated, "Today I received a call from the investigator handling the case, and they told me that yes, the first person involved had been arrested, and that I was deceived by her." Yaquelin Domínguez Nieves, 25, a resident of Sebring, Florida, was arrested last Friday, charged with 10 federal counts in connection with the human smuggling operation that resulted in the drowning of 16 people, four of whom were recovered from the sea, according to the formal accusation by the Federal Prosecutor's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Verdecia told the TV channel that someone organized the trip in Cuba and Domínguez collected part of the money in Florida. "My son called me and said, 'Look, Dad, there’s a girl who is the cousin of this man...' I called her... She told me, 'Yes, yes, the boat leaves today...' And indeed, it left that day at 1 a.m. 'Everything will be safe… he’s coming with my cousin, because they are friends.' It wasn't supposed to be a business trip... she asked for $6,000 to contribute to the fuel," the father revealed.

The immigrants departed from Jaimanitas aboard the vessel "El Alba," but there weren't six people as initially promised to Verdecia. "Nineteen people left... including minors," Verdecia recalled. "And that's when the tragedy began… I searched through all the channels... In the end, on November 19, the investigators called me to inform me that they had found my son, but he was deceased."

"They say that when the boat capsized, my son had a life jacket, but he started helping the children inside the boat, trying to get them out," the father revealed.

In his despair, Verdecia tried to contact Domínguez. "She didn't want to answer me anymore. I saw that my son hadn’t arrived and I started calling her to see what she knew about her supposed cousin, and there came a point when she didn’t want to answer me anymore."

"Now my son will have been dead for two years this November 16, and I tell everyone that it is the greatest pain a father and mother can have," Verdecia expressed.

The boat carrying at least 19 people to the United States sank approximately 30 miles off the coast of Cuba. The cousin of one of the victims told the channel that, due to bad weather, water started entering the boat, and its occupants asked the captain to turn back because they were scared about the condition of the vessel.

One of the survivors, Alexander Piloto, was rescued after the shipwreck by another boat, which shortly after also capsized, resulting in several more victims. Piloto was rescued again, this time by the United States Coast Guard, and repatriated to Cuba.

The prosecutor's office statement notes that a survivor said the boat was overloaded and didn't have a single life jacket. Domínguez is awaiting trial and could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or even the death penalty. Authorities have reported that three other people are accused in this case.

Markenzy Lapointe, federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, declared, "Human trafficking enterprises put migrants' lives at risk in pursuit of profit. Human traffickers exploit immigrants' hopes for a better life. Tragically, smugglers' feats pose a severe danger to migrants."

Lapointe added that the U.S. Prosecutor's Office aims to protect vulnerable migrants and save lives, and thus will prosecute those who carry out illicit human trafficking operations.