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At least twenty Haitian police officers injured in combat against gangs are stranded in hospitals in Cuba, without state support and forced to pay for their treatments out of their own pockets, according to an investigation by the Haitian media AyiboPost.
The agents —many of them with gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries— were evacuated to the island by the Haitian state, but once there, the Cuban healthcare system requires payment for each service without exception, amidst a deep crisis of medication shortages in the country.
"I do not regret joining the Police, but we are treated like replacement parts", said one of the affected officers, who had to pay for two surgeries out of pocket due to his insurer's refusal to cover the costs.
According to the director of the Office of Accidents, Diseases and Maternity of Haiti (OFATMA), Vikerson Garnier, the treatment of police officers is under contract with the private company “Good Money”, which acts as an intermediary between the Haitian government and the Cuban health system.
Good Money, which has neither a physical headquarters nor an official website, charges a commission of 3% to 4% for each treatment and must transfer the funds to the Cuban hospital once the medical plan is implemented. However, multiple agents report that payments have not been made, leaving them without medical care or essential medications.
"Cuban doctors do not provide care without the corresponding payment", stated Mathieuny Sidel, spokesperson for the National Union of Haitian Policemen (SYNAPOHA), who described the situation as inhumane and opaque.
The situation reached a critical point with the death of Haitian inspector Jean Bernard in a Cuban hospital on June 28th. The agent was suffering from terminal cancer and died alone, begging to be repatriated to Haiti to spend his final days with his family.
“Without help from my family, I would already be dead,” confessed another officer, injured during an operation in Delmas in March 2024, who has spent large sums on medications without receiving any reimbursement from his insurer.
In another case, a police officer who arrived in Cuba in October 2024 after being shot in the leg claims that his treatment was left incomplete because the medical board refused to cover the injury to the sciatic nerve. He is now back in Haiti, without rehabilitation.
Cuban doctors themselves admit that the shortage of medications is critical due to the U.S. embargo.
Most antibiotics, analgesics, and drugs for chronic diseases must be imported in US dollars, which are scarce in the country due to the drop in tourism.
This has led Good Money to seek medicines in Jamaica or Panama, although patients remain unassisted.
The situation raises serious doubts about Cuba's suitability as a destination for treating critically injured patients.
From June 2024 to June 2025, at least 33 Haitian police officers died, 48% during operations against armed gangs, according to figures from the Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH).
Despite the documented reports and deaths, neither the Haitian National Police nor the medical authorities of the institution have issued official statements.
The Cuban state has also not commented on the charging of services to patients who, in theory, were transferred for humanitarian reasons.
“Most of us do not complete the treatment because we are charged for everything. The agency only covers the bare minimum, and the rest is our responsibility,” lamented one of the agents from his bed in a Cuban hospital.
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