--- description: Multiple news outlets were reporting Thursday that Cuban President Raul Castro’s daughter was on the Air Algerie flight. She wasn't. title: No, Mariela Castro Wasn't on Air Algeria Flight 5017 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d6d9c16a75e5d3/69869d0bcd68480c80095cc4/mariela-castro1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Disasters](/tag/disasters/) ## Disasters Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # No, Fidel Castro's Niece Wasn't on the Algerian Plane  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 24, 2014 4:59 PM CUT  Mariela Castro, director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education and daughter of Cuba's President Raul Castro, gives a press conference in Havana, Cuba on May 5, 2014. Mariela Castro, director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education and daughter of Cuba's President Raul Castro, gives a press conference in Havana, Cuba on May 5, 2014.Franklin Reyes—AP  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 24, 2014 4:59 PM CUT Multiple news outlets reported Thursday that Cuban President Raul Castro’s daughter—Fidel Castro’s niece—was on the [Air Algérie flight that disappeared](http://time.com/3028516/air-algerie-flight-mali-ah5017/ "undefined") earlier in the day, citing information from the airport in Burkina Faso. Mariela Castro, a sexologist and gay rights activist, is the director of Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education. But she wasn’t on the flight. “I’m at a meeting, happy and healthy,” she told the television network TeleSUR. “I’m alive and kicking.” > [](https://twitter.com/tomcostellonbc/status/492333152464293890) The Facebook post which appeared to have first reported the news was later [deleted](https://www.facebook.com/aeroportdeouagadougou/posts/534600533332024 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3030382/mariela-castro-air-algerie-mali/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3030382/mariela-castro-air-algerie-mali/"},"headline":"No, Fidel Castro's Niece Wasn't on the Algerian Plane","datePublished":"2014-07-24T16:59:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:19:59.002Z","description":"\"I’m alive and kicking\"","url":"https://time.com/3030382/mariela-castro-air-algerie-mali/","keywords":["Disasters","Cuba topic","Algeria","Mali"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d6d9c16a75e5d3/69869d0bcd68480c80095cc4/mariela-castro1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d6d9c16a75e5d3/69869d0bcd68480c80095cc4/mariela-castro1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mariela Castro, director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education and daughter of Cuba's President Raul Castro, gives a press conference in Havana, Cuba on May 5, 2014.","caption":"Mariela Castro, director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education and daughter of Cuba's President Raul Castro, gives a press conference in Havana, Cuba on May 5, 2014.","creditText":"Franklin Reyes—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/disasters/","name":"Disasters"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3030382/mariela-castro-air-algerie-mali/","name":"No, Fidel Castro's Niece Wasn't on the Algerian Plane"}}]}] ```