The Cuban activist Amelia Calzadilla, exiled in Spain, issued a strong message on social media where she called on the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community for an “urgent humanitarian intervention in Cuba” in light of the serious epidemiological situation the island is facing, characterized by a healthcare collapse and state neglect.
In a video broadcast on his Facebook account, Calzadilla warned that the current health crisis “has exceeded the capacity of the Cuban healthcare system” and accused the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel of “hiding the extent of the outbreak” and “putting the lives of millions of citizens at risk.”
"I am not talking about a military intervention; I am saying that I demand a humanitarian intervention. Cuba needs doctors to come, even from international organizations like the WHO, because this problem is no longer just Cuba's issue, but a matter of security for other nations," he declared.
A sick country and a collapsed system
Calzadilla's words come amid a wave of mosquito-borne diseases—dengue, chikungunya, and Oropouche virus—that have been affecting the country since the summer and that the Ministry of Public Health itself has acknowledged as "difficult to control."
According to the latest reports, more than a dozen provinces are experiencing active transmission, and hospitals are overwhelmed by the rise in cases of fever and patients with severe symptoms, particularly among children and the elderly.
The activist reported that many Cubans "don't even go to the doctor anymore because they know there are no supplies or care," and that the pharmacies are empty, forcing families to seek treatments on the black market, where prices exceed the annual salary of an average worker.
People are administering serums at home, spending 25,000 pesos on medications that should be free. The government makes you sick and then abandons you, she noted.
Denunciation of labor abuses and state blackmail
Calzadilla also revealed that the Ministry of Education is threatening sick workers with deductions from their salaries if they present medical certificates.
"They are going to pay them only 60% of their salary, when many earn 2,000 or 3,000 pesos. It's an abuse. They are punishing people for getting sick due to a problem that the state itself caused by not controlling the epidemic," he denounced.
The activist described this measure as “inhumane blackmail” and accused the government of using illness as an instrument of social control, stating that “they let people become ill because it keeps them weak and at home.”
"I continue to say that this illness is a way to subjugate the people. They know the protocols and do not adhere to them. Given the level of discontent, they prefer that people be sick rather than protesting," he stated.
Call to the international community
Calzadilla urged international organizations —particularly the WHO, the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent— to intervene immediately. He stated that the magnitude of the outbreak poses a risk not only to Cuba but also to the Caribbean region.
"This is not a local problem. When a country fails to control an epidemic, it puts everyone at risk. In Haiti, for example, international brigades were sent to stop cholera. Why not do the same now in Cuba?" he questioned.
The activist strongly criticized the Cuban regime for its lack of transparency and for refusing to seek external assistance
"Recognizing that the country has no control over the situation would be admitting its failure. But there is no time left for political pride: Cuba urgently needs help," he insisted.
"A dictatorship that sickens and abandons its people."
In his message, Calzadilla once again described the regime as a "closed dictatorship like an oyster" that has turned the country into "a territory where falling ill is a sentence."
"We are ruled by a dictatorship that constantly endangers the lives of its citizens. Not only due to hunger or misery, but now also because of illness. And the worst part is that they know it," he concluded with indignation.
His call adds to the numerous complaints from doctors and citizens on the island regarding the healthcare collapse, the lack of medications, the proliferation of vectors, and the absence of institutional response.
While the regime insists on blaming the U.S. embargo, voices like Amelia Calzadilla's highlight that the true crisis is internal: a destroyed healthcare system, an incapable government, and a sick and abandoned people.
Filed under:
