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A year to the exact day of her son's death, Eliannis Ramírez published a heart-wrenching message on social media this Sunday, rejecting the notion that Damir simply "passed away" and directly labeling it as a crime of the system: "One year, you didn’t die; you were killed, my beloved son. A thousand times down with the PCC, MINSAP murderer, down with all the Cuban doctors complicit with the Castro-Canel dictatorship."
The mother, who resides in Miami after obtaining political asylum, accompanied her post with a photo of a memorial altar featuring the image of the child alongside a Saint Anthony candle and flowers, with the phrase "My warrior prince, I love you."
In the same message, she stated that she was "living full of pain, anger, and a desire for justice."
Damir Ortiz Ramírez was 10 years old when he passed away in April 2025 at 5:00 AM at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.
The boy had been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 since he was two years old, but his condition worsened in Cuba due to a series of failures in the healthcare system of the regime.
Cuban doctors gave him a wrong diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma, which led to an inappropriate chemotherapy treatment that severely worsened his condition.
The correct diagnosis, subsequently confirmed, was malignant Ewing sarcoma.
In addition to the diagnostic error, Damir contracted multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired bacteria related to hygiene deficiencies and poorly sterilized instruments in Cuban facilities.
The immediate cause of his death was systemic sepsis triggered by those bacteria.
His transfer to the United States was made possible thanks to an intense solidarity campaign that raised over $10,800 in less than a month to cover the cost of an air ambulance.
Damir arrived at the Miami hospital on March 12, 2025 in critical condition, after overcoming numerous bureaucratic obstacles imposed by the Cuban authorities.
After the child's death, the regime tried to blame the mother.
The official presenter Humberto López accused her of interfering in the treatment, while the Cuban Hematology Institute acknowledged the diagnostic error one day after the death.
Four Cuban doctors who defamed Eliannis Ramírez on television were later included in the list of Cuban repressors.
The doctor Miguel Ángel Ruano Sánchez, who became a father figure to the child and was accused by the regime of falsifying his curriculum, wrote upon learning of the death: "Your body suffers no more, you are free now. You are no longer lying in a bed, suffering and unable to walk. You are no longer blind, your eyes are filled with light. My angel, no one can harm you anymore."
Damir's ashes remain in Miami, where his mother continues to wait for justice to be served.
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