The official newspaper Artemisa Diario published a correction this Tuesday in which it admits to having incorrectly reported on a deceased individual in the traffic accident that occurred on Monday in San Antonio de los Baños: the adult reported as dead is alive, though in serious condition.
The outlet attributed the error to failures in internal communication with the hospitals.
"Due to an error in the feedback with the management of the hospitals where the injured from the accident that occurred this Monday, July 13, in San Antonio de los Baños are receiving medical assistance, we mistakenly reported the death of an adult," the publication acknowledged.
Yanelys Amador Borrego, provincial director of Health in Artemisa, specified that this patient "is reported as serious, with multiple injuries (head trauma and hip fracture) admitted to the ICU of Calixto García, stable and not in life-threatening condition."
A relative of the patient confirmed to the media that he remains under medical care in a delicate but stable condition.
The accident, which occurred on the Vereda–San Antonio de los Baños road, involved a vehicle transporting young recruits of the Active Military Service who were returning to their unit after the official leave.
The accident initially reported one fatality, five serious injuries, and nearly twenty other victims, figures that have now been revised.
According to the updated balance, there are 13 patients hospitalized in the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital: one in stable serious condition in therapy for closed abdominal trauma, two under care in Neurosurgery for closed skull trauma, and 10 in observation with a satisfactory evolution.
Amador Borrego emphasized that none were surgically intervened.
At the Iván Portuondo Hospital in San Antonio de los Baños, three adults are under observation in the surgery room. Dr. Osniel Enrique Pulido stated that "the patients' progress is satisfactory."
Public corrections are unusual in the official Cuban media ecosystem, where errors are rarely acknowledged explicitly. The fact that the crashed vehicle was carrying military recruits adds a sensitive dimension to the event, given the history of opacity surrounding incidents involving military personnel.
Artemisa has been the scene of several serious incidents in the past year. In May 2025, two recruits died in the Mariel Special Development Zone when a bus lost control.
In July of that same year, a bus overturned on the way to Las Terrazas with over 20 injured. And in September, a 16-year-old adolescent lost his life in Las Mangas in a collision between a car and a motorcycle.
On a national level, Cuba recorded 750 fatalities in traffic accidents in 2025, an 18% increase compared to the previous year, according to the National Road Safety Commission, which attributed human error to 92% of the incidents and 98% of the deaths.
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