The oncologist Álvaro Pérez Pérez responded this Friday with a live video lasting over 35 minutes to the clarification published by the State Commerce Directorate of the Isla de la Juventud Municipality, in which the authorities changed their account regarding the 4,000 pesos fine that sparked a wave of solidarity throughout Cuba.
The official statement, released on Friday by Radio Caribe, stated that the fine was not imposed on the doctor but "on the owner of the residence," and that the viral video of the doctor had failed to mention the prohibition on selling school supplies.
The document also noted that solidarity donations reached 100,000 pesos and urged the public to use "official channels" in similar situations, warning that "spreading incomplete information on social media undermines collective trust."
Dr. Pérez refuted that version point by point in his new video on Facebook, starting with what he called the gravest omission: "The first thing I must say is that no authority, either from the party, the government, or the State Directorate of Commerce, ever approached me at any time. They never showed any interest in knowing my version of the events."
The doctor clarified that the garage sale did not take place at his home, as stated in the official note, but rather in the entrance of his brother-in-law's house.
He also pointed out that his partner —a university professor from the Faculty of Medical Sciences with a salary of 7,500 pesos— is not "the owner of the home," and that signing the fine receipt did not indicate agreement: "His signature does not represent agreement; his signature represents a threat. If he signs it, we will leave. If he doesn't sign it, we’ll still leave. But then it will be worse."
One of the oncologist's most compelling arguments was the contradiction between the prohibition on selling notebooks and the behavior of the State itself.
According to the doctor, the same notebooks he offered for 100 pesos were sold in state-run stores for 270 pesos, and he has photographs to prove it.
"If mine is worth 100 and the state's is worth 270, yes, but you are selling it and I am not inspecting the state's store," he said. He added that the day after the incident, the notebooks disappeared from those establishments.
The doctor also reported that the inspectors—two women and a man—initially did not know what law they were enforcing: "There was never a dialogue."
"The intention was always to impose the fine on us. We weren't even explained why the fine was being issued." One of the inspectors took time to find the regulation in the form, and at one point, they were told that the violation was for "speculative pricing."
The doctor also rejected the amount of donations mentioned in the official statement. According to other sources, Cubans sent nearly 300,000 pesos to the fined oncologist, not 100,000 as stated by the Commercial Directorate.
The only institution that contacted him was the Public Health Directorate, which requested him to make a public clarification—a request he initially rejected to avoid stirring the issue.
The case is set against the backdrop of the professional salary crisis in Cuba, where the average salary in the health sector was around 6,562 pesos per month in May 2026 —about 16 dollars at the informal exchange rate— while a basic basket for two people exceeded 41,000 pesos.
The inspection system, reformed in January 2025 to compensate inspectors based on the number and amount of fines, has been criticized as an incentive to impose fines excessively.
"Everyone knows what’s behind that fine, that we, the professionals, have to go out and sell what our patients give us to earn 100 or 200 pesos, just to buy a head of garlic and be able to cook," the doctor concluded in his broadcast.
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