Related videos:
New images published by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on Facebook document the sanitary conditions of the Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Juan Bruno Zayas in Santiago de Cuba, one of the main medical centers in the second most important city in the country.
The photographs depict rusty, lidless toilets, walls and floors with severe dampness, and makeshift containers filled with crumpled newspaper used as a substitute for toilet paper.
A second image reveals a cardboard box placed on the ground as a garbage receptacle, where medical serum bags, catheter tubes, used paper, and cans are mixed together, without any biosecurity protocol.
This is not an isolated complaint. On November 30, 2025, Mayeta Labrada had already documented the critical condition of Ward 5D of the same hospital, designated for patients with chronic illnesses: broken toilets, foul-smelling pipes, and flooded hallways.
On that occasion, a relative of a patient stated anonymously: "Entering a bathroom is a challenge... it shouldn't be that way for a sick person."
On December 4, 2025, a roach infestation was reported in the bathroom of the delivery room, where new mothers and their babies had to coexist with dirt and humidity.
Five days later, the hemodialysis service was interrupted for hours due to a lack of salt for the disinfection plant, leaving patients without treatment.
In January 2026, new complaints revealed sewage running under the beds of patients in Room 5B on the fifth floor, as a result of collapsed bathrooms and outdated piping.
On May 30, 2026, Mayeta posted again about the conditions of the bathrooms in the surgical room of the same center, and on that same day reported tension and a police presence at the hospital.
The authorities at Juan Bruno Zayas have not provided structural responses to the problem: the only recorded measures have been the transfer of the gynecology service and the receipt of mattress donations.
The work of Mayeta Labrada, based in Washington D.C., has brought him reprisals: in May 2026, he reported receiving direct threats via WhatsApp from Cuba following his coverage of the healthcare crisis on the island.
The deterioration of Juan Bruno Zayas reflects the collapse of the Cuban health system: more than 96,000 patients are waiting for pending surgeries, infant mortality nearly tripled between 2018 and 2025, and 385 health facilities report severe damage.
The Minister of Health himself, José Ángel Portal Miranda, admitted in February 2026 that the government will not resolve the resource shortages in the healthcare sector in the short term.
Filed under: