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The apostle Mayim Jorge, leader of a Christian church in Las Tunas, publicly denounced that the Cuban regime prohibited his congregation from continuing to distribute breakfasts to pregnant women at a maternity home in the city, also demanding that they request permission from the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) each time they wanted to bring food.
The program had just started on June 2, 2026, when the church initiated the distribution of breakfasts to 15 pregnant women at the maternal home for the first time, featuring a menu that included chocolate milk, ham and cheese sandwiches, coffee, and a dessert—foods that, according to the pastor, the women had never received at that center before.
The service was provided on Mondays and Tuesdays, free of charge, and a team of volunteers would wake up at four in the morning to prepare the food.
Shortly after the program began, one of the congregation's pastors was informed of the government prohibition. Mayim Jorge stated it directly in his Facebook post: "Today one of our pastors provided a snack in the home of the expectant mothers and was informed that the government has prohibited our assistance. It was determined that each time we do this, we have to obtain a permit from the PCC. So with our resources, we must request permission."
The pastor described the situation as "unacceptable" and summarized the regime's attitude with a straightforward phrase: "Pregnant women had never consumed milk, nor had they eaten cheese or ham. It is unacceptable. That's how they are; they neither eat nor allow others to eat."
Simultaneously with the program at the mother’s home, the church served breakfast to 140 people—elderly individuals and those with low income—within its own facilities, catering to 22 pregnant women daily at the maternal center.
Mayim Jorge was emphatic in dismissing any agreements with the authorities: "There are no deals with the government. The church never makes deals with the government. DO NOT BE MISLED. We help the people because God's love is greater than man's vengeance."
The pastor also recalled that the regime has attempted to destroy his church on multiple occasions: "It is the church that gives, the church that was persecuted, the one the government wanted to destroy, ten times in this city. At times we have been left with nothing."
This pattern of state interference in the humanitarian aid of independent churches is not new in Cuba.
In 2020, PCC officials blocked humanitarian donations sent by Christian organizations, and in 2023, the Cuban Catholic bishops themselves described the situation as the "most serious crisis of recent decades."
The prohibition comes amid a severe humanitarian crisis. The UN warned in May 2026 that pregnant women are among the most vulnerable groups in Cuba, and its seeks 94 million dollars to assist two million people, with a funding shortfall of over 60 million dollars.
"We want those children who will live in freedom to be born healthy. At least in what is within our control," wrote Mayim Jorge when announcing the program, before the regime stopped it.
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