Cuban man loses his wife and son while attempting to cross the Rio Grande River

Cuban-born Guillermo Alan Matos lost his wife and 4-year-old son when the family attempted to cross the Rio Grande to reach the United States, local Mexican media reported on Thursday.

The woman, originally from Uruguay, and the child died on Wednesday trying to cross the natural border between the U.S. and Mexico. The 33-year-old Cuban man told authorities that the current carried them downstream in the Colonia Benito Juarez area, TVR Noticias reported.

Guillermo Alan Matos was the only survivor. Mexican authorities identified the victims as Alessa Nadines Patiño Rivero, 25, and her son Ismael Alan Patiño, 4, both Uruguayan nationals.

According to the Coahuila Attorney General's Office, they are working to recover the bodies of the mother and child.

On Wednesday, the Rio Grande River was carrying a greater current than usual due to the release of part of the waters from La Amistad Dam, according to authorities, which made the flow more dangerous, reported Telemundo.

At least 15 migrants have died on the border of Coahuila and Texas so far in 2022, according to data obtained by the newspaper Zócalo. Mexico has intercepted 73,034 irregular migrants this year, according to data from the National Migration Institute.

A inicios de febrero pasado se viralizaron en redes las imágenes de una familia de cubanos captada por las cámaras de Más Televisión, mientras intentaba cruzar el río Bravo en la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos para pedir asilo en el país norteamericano.

At the beginning of February, Más Televisión shared images of a Cuban family attempting to cross the Rio Bravo at the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum in the U.S. The footage went viral. 

In the video, children cry as their parents force them into the cold water and stuff their clothes into plastic bags. One of the children was swept away by the current, although a family member saved him. On the other shore, U.S. officers were shown waiting for them. The officers put the migrants in their vehicles and presumably took them to a detention center, said the Mexican outlet.

Many Cubans have lost their lives attempting to cross the Rio Grande River that divides Mexico from the United States. Hundreds have also died crossing through the Darien jungle on the Colombia-Panama border, which more than 10,700 Cubans have crossed sin January, according to Panama's National Migration Service.