The Cuban regime labels the dissemination of the case of a child with leukemia waiting for a visa to the U.S. as "manipulation."

The Cuban regime has labeled the dissemination on social media of the story of the seven-year-old Cuban boy Jorge Esteban Reina Llerena, who is suffering from leukemia and is waiting for a humanitarian visa to travel to the United States for a bone marrow transplant, as "manipulation," a case that CiberCuba reported in August.

In a report broadcast during prime time this Sunday, the state-controlled Noticiero Nacional de Televisión has attempted to make viewers in the country believe that the case of little Jorgito, who has been suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia since he was two years old, has been distorted and "politicized." His health has deteriorated to the point that the only option to save him is a bone marrow transplant.

The doctors at the Institute of Hematology and Immunology, where the child has received treatment, informed the mother at the time that they had done everything possible to cure him and that the only solution is to transplant him, but there are no "conditions" to do it in Cuba.

The NTV report, lasting four minutes and eight seconds and featuring a musical background that suggests a plot of intrigue and suspense, announces from the beginning that it will reveal the story of the little patient "after the manipulation" on social media, and for this purpose, it even uses images of the minor that were not authorized by the family.

The material includes interviews with Dr. Gustavo Barroso, the pediatrician, and Wilfredo Roque García, the director of the Institute, who confirm details about Jorgito's illness, the severity of his condition, and the risky treatments and protocols he has undergone, information that had already been published by our site and other media outlets.

Barroso explained that the child was receiving low-intensity chemotherapy, due to the procedures the family had started since the patient's relapse, to obtain a humanitarian visa and carry out the treatment abroad, as it is not possible in Cuba.

Likewise, the doctors recognized a transplant as the only alternative to achieve complete remission of the disease and, therefore, save his life.

In the last few weeks, Jorgito's parents have expedited efforts to try to obtain a humanitarian visa that would allow him and his mother, Arlety Llerena Martínez, to move to the United States.

At the end of August, Jorge Pastor Reina Pallarols, the child's father and a resident of the United States, contacted the office of Cuban-American senator Marco Rubio to present his case, after CiberCuba interviewed the child's mother, who lives with the minor in Havana, and she pleaded with U.S. authorities for a swift processing of the humanitarian visa, as her son will not survive without the bone marrow transplant.

Interestingly, the report of the Sunday broadcast of the National Television News has come to light just a week after it was reported that Senator Rubio succeeded in getting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to prioritize the case of the Cuban patient so he can travel to Florida, where Nicklaus Children's Hospital is willing to perform the surgical intervention.

After learning about the child's serious medical condition, Rubio's office contacted USCIS and, in less than two weeks, the family received a response from Immigration - which CiberCuba was able to access - in which USCIS stated that Jorgito's case has been considered "priority" and is pending review by immigration authorities.

In the television report, the director of the Hematology Institute admitted that Jorgito's case “is not the first one we have in this situation,” as several parents request humanitarian visas or carry out other procedures to travel abroad and be able to treat their children, which he considers a “right” of the families. “We have nothing against these possibilities, these requests,” he stated.

However, Roque recalled that the patient had previously been denied a visa to the U.S. and emphasized that, on this second occasion, his case has been "escalated to the political arena."

The doctor stated that “it really shouldn’t be” and argued that if it is a humanitarian visa for a patient they want to help, “as other countries do, they grant the visa, the child goes out, is treated, without any kind of problem or political intervention,” in clear allusion to the actions of the Cuban-American senator, who has intervened for the Immigration authorities to prioritize the case.

At various moments, the NTV report shows, in flashes, captures from alternative sites and social networks - even from Jorgito's mother - that reproduced news about the boy, and in particular, the actions of Senator Rubio, perhaps with the intention of reinforcing the idea of the alleged manipulation of the case, which is not demonstrated in the just over four minutes of the audiovisual.

The material also intersperses fragments of an interview given by Llerena, Jorgito's mother, to the news portal CubaNet, which it reproduces, even keeping the watermark with the logo of the independent media.

In her statements, the mother outlined details of her son's illness and health status and the reasons why the family decided to apply for a humanitarian visa, without questioning the decisions or medical protocols applied to her son during the years he has been treated at the Hematology Institute.

This Monday, in a statement to CiberCuba, Llerena expressed her gratitude towards the medical staff who have taken care of her son.

"First of all, my sincerest thanks to the doctors who, directly and indirectly, have been involved in the care provided to my child. Despite the shortages and difficulties they face, they still do everything possible. Thank you," she stated.

However, the mother has reacted angrily to the broadcast of a report about her son by Televisión Cubana, for which - she stated - authorization was not requested.

In a post on her Facebook profile, she emphasized: "Considering this shocking news that my case was the headline of the national news, I want to say that I feel outraged, because it was without my consent."

The mother stated that she respects "criteria, opinions, and everything that they want to express," but clarified that anyone "who can study the case will know that after two invasive chemotherapy treatments, where no remission was achieved, and after two testicular relapses, another treatment leaves a 10% chance of survival. Even though it was accepted that this treatment would be administered, it did not guarantee a real chance of life for my son, nor is a bone marrow transplant possible because we do not currently have that option at the institute where the child is being treated."

He also stated the reason why they rejected another chemotherapy treatment at the Hematology Institute: "In order for him to receive treatment in another country, he cannot be undergoing an ongoing treatment. However, if we accept this invasive treatment, he cannot travel due to the critical conditions it causes in the child. That is why we refused the treatment, as it was accepted at Nicklaus Children’s, where he can indeed undergo the bone marrow transplant, which is the only option with a higher percentage of being able to achieve his cure."

Llerena was emphatic in concluding her message: “I just want my son to be cured, to be saved, and to be able to navigate through life as a healthy human being.”