A video posted on Instagram shows rats running freely through the halls of the Enrique Cabrera National Hospital in Havana, revealing an alarming public health concern.
The recording, shared by the user Lisbet Lago López, begins with an ironically charged phrase that says it all: "Welcome to a day of combat preparation against hantavirus."
"As you know, hantavirus is spread by rats, so today we present a revolutionary idea with live antibodies. You know, Cubans are always one step ahead. When that virus arrives here, we will already be fully immune," he emphasized.
The images show a rodent moving freely down the hospital corridor, while the author ironically names it "Stuart" and makes reference to "its family," implying that the presence of rats is not an isolated incident but a constant issue at the facility.
"If you ask me how the hospital is, I’ll tell you that it’s spectacular. Here you have Cuban wildlife in 4K. This is an all-in-one experience. There’s urban safari and nightlife here," says Lisbet in the video, using the language of revolutionary propaganda to depict the deterioration of the facility.
The complaint takes on a particularly serious dimension due to its immediate context: days ago, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) activated an epidemiological surveillance alert for hantavirus, linked to the international outbreak from the MV Hondius cruise, which resulted in at least three deaths and nine confirmed cases.
The Deputy Minister of the sector, Carilda Peña García, stated that Cuba has strengthened controls in ports, airports, and marinas to detect signs of rodents, as hantavirus is primarily transmitted through inhalation of particles contaminated with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rats.
The paradox is striking: while the regime warns about the risk of rodents at the borders, rats roam freely in one of its main hospitals.
This case is neither the first nor the only one.
In February 2025, rats were filmed in the León Cuervo Rubio Hospital in Pinar del Río; a year earlier, a mouse was spotted in the maternity ward of the Moa hospital; and in 2018, rats “were roaming freely” in the Camilo Cienfuegos Hospital in Sancti Spíritus.
The pattern reflects the structural collapse of a healthcare system that the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, described in February as "on the brink of collapse", with power outages lasting up to 20 hours daily, ambulances without fuel, and 385 healthcare facilities reporting damages.
The Enrique Cabrera Hospital, located in the Boyeros municipality to the south of Havana, has also accumulated other recent complaints: last April, a young mother revealed a wave of grievances regarding the care received.
The current video ends with a twist that contrasts with the ironic tone of the rest: "A round of applause for all those heroes in white coats who work under these conditions and try every day to give us a little bit of life."
The phrase precisely summarizes the tragedy of the Cuban healthcare system: doctors and nurses who strive daily while the regime that showcases them as an international display abandons them to work among rats.
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