Assel Herrera and Landy Rodriguez, the two Cuban doctors kidnapped by the Al Shabaab militia during their health mission on the Kenyan-Somali border a year and a half ago on 12 April 2019 in the Mandera area, are finally free and in good health.
During their capture, one of the security members of their convoy was killed and their driver was arrested on charges of complicity in the kidnapping. Apparently, negotiations for their release began shortly after the release of the Italian volunteer Silvia Romano, who had been kidnapped 15 months earlier in Chakama, Kenya's coastal hinterland, just outside Mogadishu on 9 May last.
The Somali terrorist group released the two doctors, an orthopaedic surgeon and a paediatrician, who were part of a group of about one hundred health workers who arrived in Kenya thanks to an exchange agreement between the two countries, after months of negotiations between the Government of Havana and the secret services of Mogadishu. This was reported by the international agency Associated Press, citing officials of the same services.
It is not yet clear whether a ransom was paid for the release of the two doctors, nor how much other external mediators participated in the operation. It is known that the kidnappers had already asked for a certain amount of money, the extent of which is not known.
Associated Press reported that the Somali secret services acted at the request of the Cuban government, which negotiated for the release of the doctors after receiving a video showing them a few months ago. Herrera and Rodriguez had been transferred from border areas to a more remote and secure location whose location has not been revealed.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a tweet that the two were released and thanked the Somali government for its help. He said he spoke with Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad about the developments.