Havana, September 16 (RHC)-- President Miguel Díaz-Canel reiterated on Twitter his support for the two Cuban doctors kidnapped in Kenya in 2019, on the occasion of the birthday this past Tuesday of Assel Herrera Correa, one of the kidnapped.

Díaz-Canel said he had a phone conversation with Herrera Correa's mother and brother, to whom he confirmed his support and affection.

"Today is the birthday of Cuban doctor Assel Herrera Correa, who unfortunately remains kidnapped. I spoke by telephone with his mother and brother. I ratified our support and affection for them," tweeted the President of the Republic of Cuba.

The governments of Kenya and Cuba are working together to guarantee the safe return of the two Cuban doctors kidnapped in that African country: Assel Herrera Correa, a specialist in General Integral Medicine, from Las Tunas Province; and Landy Rodríguez Hernández, a specialist in Surgery, from Villa Clara.

In the early morning of April 12, 2019, it became known that the collaborators were kidnapped by alleged members of the radical Islamic group Al Shabab, when they were on their way to the Mandera hospital, near the border with Somalia.

The top Cuban authorities have since maintained communication channels with the government of Nairobi, following up on this situation.

President Díaz-Canel and his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, have discussed on several occasions the efforts to get these two health professionals to return.

Last April, one day before the year of the kidnapping of the medical doctors, Díaz-Canel assured that, despite the world situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cuban government maintains the efforts to achieve their safe return.