The body of Alexander Pantoja Bertot was found this Sunday in a rural area of Contramaestre.
14ymedio, Madrid, September 13, 2026 / Electrician Alexander Pantoja Bertot, who had been missing since Thursday in a rural area of Santiago de Cuba, was found dead this Sunday. This was confirmed by the province’s Electric Company in a statement published on its official profile.
According to the state agency, a brigade of forest rangers found the body in the El Palmar area, in the municipality of Contramaestre. Experts and authorities remain at the scene to determine the cause and circumstances of death.
The company lamented the news and described Pantoja Bertot as a compañero who “was part of this great family of electrical workers.” They also sent their condolences to his family and friends and stated that his passing “leaves a deep void” among those who worked alongside him.
Pantoja Bertot, a lineman for the Electric Company of Santiago de Cuba, disappeared on Thursday while inspecting the power lines that supply the Gota Blanca reservoir, in the rural area between the municipalities of Palma Soriano and Contramaestre.
The company lamented the news and described Pantoja Bertot as a compañero who “was part of this great family of electrical workers.”
Since then, a search operation had mobilized rescue teams, coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior, with canine brigades, National Police officers, and dozens of linemen, supported by drones and resources from Geocuba, Etecsa, and the Cuban Red Cross. On Sunday, 50 electrical workers from the provincial capital and an additional canine unit from the municipality of Mella joined the search, according to Aris Arias Batalla, the provincial head of Operations and Relief for the Red Cross in Santiago de Cuba.
In the days leading up to the discovery, Pantoja Bertot’s sister, Yaima Bertot, had expressed her anguish over the uncertainty surrounding what had happened. “I want to stay positive until the end to give my mother and family strength, but the reality could be different. I beg you to leave my brother somewhere he can be found: not one more day without knowing about him.”
The disappearance and subsequent death of Pantoja Bertot adds to a climate of growing insecurity in Cuba. Reports of robberies, assaults, and violent acts in both rural and urban areas have increased in tandem with the country’s deepening crisis. According to the independent organization Cubalex, August alone saw 52 homicides and more than 300 violent crimes in Cuba, a record number that reflects the extent of the deterioration of security on the island.
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