Cuba decrees Official Mourning

 

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 20 (ACN) The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, decreed on Sunday Official Mourning in Cuba, from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., on January 20, 2025.

"With deep consternation our people learned that thirteen brave and self-sacrificing military personnel, with exemplary behavior during their service, died in an attempt to put out a fire in a building site that stored war material of the Holguin Military Region, in the Eastern Army, at the imminent risk of their own lives, to prevent the occurrence of a catastrophe," the Head of State stated in Presidential Decree 956, contained in the Official Gazette of the Republic, in its extraordinary edition No. 1 of 2025.

It is provided that during the period of the Official Mourning, the Lone Star flag will be flown at half-mast in public buildings and military institutions. The Ministers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs shall be in charge of the compliance of the provisions.
This Monday, at 9:00 a.m., in the Revolution Square Major General Calixto Garcia, in eastern Holguin province, the ceremony of posthumous tribute to the combatants will take place.

In this regard, The people of Holguin on behalf of all Cuba pay tribute today to the thirteen combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) fallen in the line of duty during the events that occurred in the town of Melones, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre.

During the posthumous tribute ceremony that takes place in the Revolution Square Major General Calixto Garcia, six wreaths were laid, including those of Army General Raul Castro Ruz and the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, along with those of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Minfar), the families, the people of Holguin and the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution.

In the honor guard, which began at 7:00 a.m. and which will continue until around noon, the photos of the fallen combatants of January 7th are placed to be paid homage by their families and the representation of the people of Holguin made up of workers, students and leaders.

According to a statement released by Minfar, the accident occurred at a construction site that stored war material belonging to the Holguin Military Region of the Eastern Army, and the possible cause was associated with an electrical failure caused by a short circuit inside the facility.