{"id":217306,"date":"2020-04-12T18:13:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T22:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=217306"},"modified":"2020-04-12T18:13:17","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T22:13:17","slug":"cuban-doctors-assel-and-landy-one-year-after-their-kidnapping-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuban-doctors-assel-and-landy-one-year-after-their-kidnapping-in-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban doctors Assel and Landy one year after their kidnapping in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The two Cuban doctors kidnapped in Kenya by the Somali jihadist group Al-Shabaab this Sunday will have been a year in captivity in Somalia, while the Kenyan government reiterates that they are still \u201calive\u201d and efforts to free them continue despite the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are working every day to ensure that they return home alive. We are very aware of what the families are suffering,\u201d said the spokesman for the Kenyan Executive, Cyril Oguna.<\/p>\n<p>This Sunday surgeon Landy Rodr\u00edguez and general medicine specialist Assel Herrera will have been in captivity for a year, after their kidnapping by suspected members of Al-Shabaab in the Kenyan city of Mandera (northeast), near the border with Somalia and the target of numerous jihadist attacks in the past.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"6sYYvncKU4\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/al-shabaabs-kidnappings-chronology-of-the-wait\/\">Al-Shabaab\u2019s kidnappings: chronology of the wait<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Al-Shabaab\u2019s kidnappings: chronology of the wait&#8221; &#8212; OnCubaNews English\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/al-shabaabs-kidnappings-chronology-of-the-wait\/embed\/#?secret=cw51W1F4tm#?secret=6sYYvncKU4\" data-secret=\"6sYYvncKU4\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On April 12, 2019, the two doctors were traveling, as usual, in a convoy to the Mandera hospital, accompanied by armed escorts, when they were intercepted after a shooting in which one of the guards who watched over their safety was killed.<\/p>\n<p>Although Kenya mobilized the Army and Police to pursue the kidnappers, its troops \u201cfailed to provide an effective response to the attack and Al-Shabaab had all day to move the two kidnapped doctors across the border to their areas in Somalia,\u201d as the security consultant Andrew Franklin, a former U.S. Marine settled in Nairobi since 1981, reminded <em>EFE<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThey are alive\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since then, Herrera and Rodr\u00edguez have neither been seen in public nor have photos or videos been published that give an idea of \u200b\u200btheir fate.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if the Kenyan government has received any recent proof that they are alive, Oguna replied: \u201cYes. We are working with our partners in sharing intelligence information. We have evidence that they are alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"BKB9fo4PqM\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/canciller-cubano-asegura-que-kenia-mantiene-esfuerzos-para-el-retorno-de-medicos-secuestrados\/\">Canciller cubano asegura que Kenia mantiene esfuerzos para el retorno de m\u00e9dicos secuestrados<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"\u00abCanciller cubano asegura que Kenia mantiene esfuerzos para el retorno de m\u00e9dicos secuestrados\u00bb \u2014 OnCubaNews\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/canciller-cubano-asegura-que-kenia-mantiene-esfuerzos-para-el-retorno-de-medicos-secuestrados\/embed\/#?secret=DyPcoLsBs7#?secret=BKB9fo4PqM\" data-secret=\"BKB9fo4PqM\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it is a delicate operation,\u201d said the spokesman, stressing that a hasty intervention \u201cwould not help,\u201d hence the need to \u201cplan meticulously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That no evidence of the doctors\u2019 being alive has been released \u201cis neither a good nor a bad sign,\u201d Murithi Mutiga, director of the International Crisis Group (ICG) for the Horn of Africa, told <em>EFE<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, Mutiga said, \u201cIt is very encouraging that Al-Shabaab did not declare that it has killed them. Normally, when Al-Shabaab kills hostages, it makes it public. Therefore, at least that gives families some hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Release in times of coronavirus<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Like many other countries, Kenya currently uses its resources to combat the coronavirus pandemic with strict containment measures that reduce the mobility of citizens.<\/p>\n<p>In this context, a question arises: is the health crisis going to have an impact on the plans to free the doctors?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. We have troops in Somalia that have been there for a long time and their efforts continue,\u201d replied Oguna, referring to the deployment of the Kenyan army in Somalia since 2011, when it invaded that country in reaction to several kidnappings in Kenya attributed to Al- Shabaab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of our presence there is to ensure that we continue monitoring each movement and working with our partners, so that we don\u2019t lose sight of the whereabouts of the two doctors,\u201d added the spokesman.<\/p>\n<p>However, a possible military operation to rescue the doctors is \u201ca very unrealistic option,\u201d according to Mutiga, who believes that \u201cnegotiations offer the most promising way to free the doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Franklin, \u201cWell-informed sources indicate that negotiations are underway for a rescue between the Cuban government and Al-Shabaab. Those negotiations are being facilitated by several clan elders, although they have also attracted a myriad of negotiators and self-proclaimed intermediaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no doubt that Al-Shabaab sees the operation as a source of income,\u201d said the former Marine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Millionaire rescue of \u201cwar hostages\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last May, traditional Kenyan and Somali elders who traveled to the Somali region of Al-Shabaab-controlled Jubaland to negotiate on behalf of the doctors claimed to have seen the doctors providing medical assistance to the local population.<\/p>\n<p>According to the mediators, the kidnappers even demanded a reward of about 1.5 million dollars for their release, the Kenyan press reported at the time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"JlZCK3xpGI\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/kenia-se-niega-a-pagar-rescate-para-liberacion-de-los-medicos-secuestrados\/\">Kenia se niega a pagar rescate para liberaci\u00f3n de los m\u00e9dicos secuestrados<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"\u00abKenia se niega a pagar rescate para liberaci\u00f3n de los m\u00e9dicos secuestrados\u00bb \u2014 OnCubaNews\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/kenia-se-niega-a-pagar-rescate-para-liberacion-de-los-medicos-secuestrados\/embed\/#?secret=lfSJGJ5uDv#?secret=JlZCK3xpGI\" data-secret=\"JlZCK3xpGI\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In that negotiation, \u201cthe commanders of the (jihadist) group did not consult with each other or decide on the release of the doctors, but to silence the elderly, they asked for millions of dollars as a ransom that the elderly, Kenya or Cuba cannot pay,\u201d Mohamed Moalin, tax collector in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas in central and southern Somalia, said to <em>EFE<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Moalin indicated that Al-Shabaab treats Rodr\u00edguez and Herrera as \u201cwar hostages\u201d because it considers Cuba an enemy of Islam due to its support for Ethiopia in the conflict that it fought with Somalia between 1977 and 1978 in the dispute for Ogaden, an Ethiopian region of Somali population.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes it very difficult for the case to be normalized at the civil level,\u201d which has hampered talks with traditional leaders, argued the tax collector of the jihadist group, which joined Al Qaeda in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, he said, Al-Shabaab takes advantage of the doctors to care for its wounded and train its own doctors under the supervision of Xarasa guards, special security brigades that monitor the hostages\u2019 movements.<\/p>\n<p>The Kenyan government, however, continues to stand its ground: \u201cWe\u2019ve never paid ransoms to terrorists and that position has not changed,\u201d said Oguna.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cuba\u2019s \u201ctireless efforts\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cuba, which maintains regular contacts with the Kenyan authorities, denied last year that the kidnappers had put a price on the release of the doctors.<\/p>\n<p>Without going into details, the Cuban ambassador in Kenya, Ernesto G\u00f3mez D\u00edaz, simply explained to <em>EFE<\/em> that currently \u201cmany efforts are being made that should lead to the liberation and return of the two doctors to their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">El 12 de abril, se cumple un a\u00f1o del secuestro en Kenia, de los m\u00e9dicos cubanos Assel Herrera y Landy Rodr\u00edguez. Llam\u00e9 a sus familiares y les he asegurado que a pesar de la actual situaci\u00f3n mundial de COVID-19, continuamos las gestiones para su retorno seguro a Cuba. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SomosCuba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SomosCuba<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3IV118R0Cp\">pic.twitter.com\/3IV118R0Cp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez (@DiazCanelB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DiazCanelB\/status\/1248988859834269699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 11, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe continue to make tireless efforts. The [coronavirus] pandemic has not stopped us from continuing to work. We are optimistic and we are sure that they will return with us,\u201d said the ambassador.<\/p>\n<p>Rodr\u00edguez and Herrera are part of a contingent of 100 Cuban health professionals\u2015including radiologists, plastic and orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and nephrologists\u2015who arrived in Kenya in 2018 through a bilateral agreement to improve access to specialized health services in this African country.<\/p>\n<p>After the kidnapping, the Kenyan authorities relocated to safer areas the Cuban doctors deployed in Kenyan counties bordering Somalia, where Al-Shabaab is fighting to forcibly implant an Islamic Wahhabi-type (ultra-conservative) state.<\/p>\n<p>Since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Somalia has been plagued by conflict and chaos, without an effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias and warlords.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The two Cuban doctors kidnapped in Kenya by the Somali jihadist group Al-Shabaab this Sunday will have been a year in captivity in Somalia, while the Kenyan government reiterates that they are still \u201calive\u201d and efforts to free them continue despite the coronavirus pandemic. \u201cWe are working every day to ensure that they return home [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3606,"featured_media":217307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13902],"tags":[20233,20196],"ppma_author":[33548,17270],"class_list":["post-217306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba","tag-cuba-and-kenya","tag-cuban-doctors-kidnapped"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cuban doctors Assel and Landy one year after their kidnapping in Kenya | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta 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