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The Provincial Directorate of Public Health of Camagüey published an official statement on Facebook this Sunday to refute the claims made by independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, who reported on Saturday that the main generator of the Provincial Pediatric Hospital had caught fire.
Far from clarifying the causes of the problem, the statement ultimately confirmed the substance of the complaint while dedicating several paragraphs to attacking the journalist.
The official text, published about 12 hours after the original complaint, denies that a fire occurred and reframes it as an “unexpected contingency”.
"What actually happened was an unexpected contingency in one of our generators. The technicians from HEMER, responsible for these units in the province, identified a malfunction in a component of the coupling between the engine and the generator, resulting from wear accumulated over the years," the statement indicates.
Tan Estrada publicly responded by pointing out the contradiction: "The most striking thing is that, in their own statement, they end up confirming the substance of my complaint. They say that there was no fire, but rather an 'unexpected contingency' caused by the failure of a part of the generator due to years of accumulated wear. In other words, they acknowledge that the generator malfunctioned and that the hospital had to confront an emergency situation."
According to Tan Estrada's original complaint, when the hospital workers asked when the broken equipment would be repaired, the response was that "there are no spare parts to repair the hospital's generator."
The journalist, exiled in Mexico since December 31, 2024, also questioned why the institution did not provide any explanation regarding the lack of preventive maintenance or who is accountable for the deficiencies.
"When a public institution spends more effort attacking the messenger than explaining the causes of the problem, it becomes clear what its priorities are. The people of Camagüey do not need discrediting campaigns; they need safe hospitals, with functioning equipment and timely maintenance," he wrote.
What stood out the most in the statement was the use of the journalist's personal information as a tool for discrediting.
The official text refers to his academic history, his time at the University of Camagüey, and his participation in the Union of Young Communists and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, which was widely interpreted as a tactic of intimidation.
Tan Estrada rejected the questioning of his connection to Camagüey: "I am a true Camagüeyano. It is precisely because I deeply love my land that I denounce corruption, neglect, and everything that harms my people."
The journalist concluded his response with a warning: "My commitment remains the same: to expose what others try to hide. If every denunciation leads to an official statement, it means that journalism is fulfilling its role."
The incident occurs during a particularly critical week for the hospitals in Camagüey.
On July 8, a fire in the generator at Amalia Simoni Hospital forced the evacuation of newborns specifically to the Pediatric Hospital.
The next day, a severe storm left the Provincial Hospital and the Oncology Center without electricity.
All of this is happening amid the worst electrical crisis in Cuba in decades: on July 6, the country experienced its seventh total disconnection from the National Electroenergetic System in just 18 months, and the electrical deficit reached a historic high of 2,341 MW on July 9.
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