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Rosleidys, a 21-year-old Cuban woman, passed away last Thursday at the "Enrique Cabrera" University General Hospital, known as the National Hospital, after what her family describes as severe medical negligence: she arrived with abdominal pain, and the staff only administered intravenous fluids without conducting any diagnostic tests.
His mother-in-law, identified as Judith, published a complaint letter on Facebook that went viral immediately and triggered a flood of testimonies from Cubans who have experienced similar situations in various hospitals across the country.
"My daughter-in-law went to the National Hospital with abdominal pain that seemed treatable. However, the only initial response from the medical staff was the administration of an IV, without conducting the necessary tests, evaluations, or interventions to determine the real cause of her condition," Judith wrote in the letter published on social media.
Given the patient's evident deterioration, her husband and brother-in-law had to firmly demand that she be transferred to the intensive care unit, according to the report. Even so, essential measures such as intubation and appropriate support to preserve her life were not applied.
What the family finds most striking is that, while medical attention was being denied or delayed, the hospital did indeed call the police to suppress the relatives who were desperately demanding help. "It is even more alarming that, while necessary medical care was being refused or postponed, the authorities were summoned to suppress the family members who, in their desperation, were merely seeking to save their loved one's life," Judith stated.
Rosleidys leaves behind a one-year-old son. "A husband has lost his wife, a mother has lost her daughter, and a child of just one year will grow up without his mother's love and presence," wrote her mother-in-law. In another post, the same woman lamented: "only 21 years old, and now my grandson without you, without your love, without your warmth."
The complaint sparked a wave of testimonies in the comments section. Beatriz Hernández recounted that her mother passed away on March 9 at Fajardo Hospital under similar conditions: "They did nothing for her, just gave her a saline drip and that was it. They couldn't remove the phlegm because the defibrillator was broken, and they also didn't provide oxygen because they didn't have boiled water."
Lisandra Amador reported that her uncle died between April 13 and 15 at the Calixto García Hospital due to medical negligence. Yordank CH recounted that his 64-year-old mother died at the same National Hospital on November 30, 2020, and that no complaint submitted at any level received any response.
The case of Rosleidys is not isolated. In December 2025, 22-year-old Daniela Aurora Ochoa Hernández died along with her baby at the Roberto Rodríguez Hospital in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, due to alleged negligence. In May 2024, seven-month-pregnant Laura Castillo Zulueta passed away at that same National Hospital after being transferred from the Hijas de Galicia Maternal Hospital. In February 2026, a 26-year-old woman died in Camagüey due to a lack of norepinephrine.
The collapse of the Cuban healthcare system has structural roots. The Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, acknowledged before the National Assembly in July 2025 an unprecedented crisis: chronic shortages of supplies, a massive exodus of professionals, and an increase in maternal and infant mortality.
The maternal mortality rate nearly doubled between 2024 and mid-2025, increasing from 37.4 to 56.3 per 100,000 live births. Cuba lost more than 12,000 doctors between 2021 and 2022 due to emigration, and only 30% of the basic medication supply is available in the country.
"I demand that this case be investigated, that responsibilities be determined, and that necessary measures be taken to prevent incidents like this from happening again," Judith concluded in her letter, a plea that dozens of Cubans have made before without receiving a response from the regime.
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