Related videos:
A young woman from Camagüey, posted a desperate plea for help on Facebook to obtain a pacemaker for her father, who is admitted to the Cardiology Intensive Care Unit of the Provincial Hospital in that city.
The patient has been connected to an external artificial pacemaker for several days while awaiting the final device they need: a Medtronic or Biotronik model, either single-chamber or dual-chamber.
"It is very hard to see your father day and night surrounded by equipment full-time, knowing that he needs it to live and in our country it is not available for so many people like him who need it and have been waiting for months for their lives to last a little longer," wrote Emiliannis Cordero Simon in the Facebook group "Revolico Camagüey everything very cheap."
The family stated that they are willing to pay for the device if someone can guide them on how to obtain it, but they face a structural obstacle: pacemaker manufacturers do not sell to individuals, only to hospital institutions.
Several commenters confirmed this reality from various countries. "I searched for it online using the name you provided, but that's not an unrestricted sale. I wanted to help and surprise you, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case," wrote a user identified as Binelys Benítez.
Others pointed out that the most viable way is to obtain them through intermediaries in Panama or Mexico. "About three years ago, I was able to buy one for my grandmother in Panama; it's true that from here in the United States it's impossible to buy it," shared one commenter. According to another user, prices on Mercado Libre in Mexico range between 30,000 and 40,000 Mexican pesos.
A commentator suggested coordinating with the National Institute of Cardiology in Havana to check availability, while another recommended going to the National Institute of Legal Medicine, where pacemakers removed from deceased individuals are either handed over to family members or donated to the hospital.
The situation of Javier Reina Leiva is not an isolated case. In September 2023, it was reported that at least 20 people in Camagüey urgently needed a pacemaker, and in April 2024, the NGO mediCuba-Europa warned that at least 100 Cubans remained hospitalized due to a lack of pacemakers, while another 1,500 people needed them across the country.
The drama unfolds with a regularity that reflects the collapse of the Cuban healthcare system. In July 2025, the Minister of Public Health himself admitted before Parliament that Cuba had only 30% of the essential medications available in pharmacies, and in 2026 BioCubaFarma acknowledged that it cannot guarantee around 300 medications from the essential list.
A survey conducted earlier this year revealed that 54.2% of Cubans face severe barriers to obtaining medications, while only 4.8% acquire them without difficulty.
The outrage of the commentators summed up in a few words what thousands of Cuban families experience: "It's so sad that a person has to die because there is no pacemaker here. A medical power without resources."
Filed under: