A Cuban identified as Magalis Rojas Rojas has been waiting nearly 10 years for the State to repair her home, which was damaged by a cyclone in 2017, without having received the necessary material support to live in dignified conditions, according to a testimony released this Wednesday by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH).
In the video posted on social media by the OCDH, Magalis described in the first person a situation of total abandonment: "The condition in which I live, I have no assistance whatsoever. I suffer from anemia, I am hypertensive, I have thyroid issues and now I have cancer."
His home, which was never repaired after the cyclone passed, reflects the level of precariousness in which he survives: “The kitchen is made of banana fiber, banana leaf, please, and the house is in uninhabitable conditions. Please tell me,” he expressed in desperation.
The OCDH framed the case within a reality that affects millions of Cubans: "This is the sad reality for a large part of that 89% of the population living in extreme poverty in Cuba: people with very few resources, struggling to survive amid misery, neglect, and the abandonment of organizations and institutions that continue to turn their backs on cases like that of Magalis."
The cyclone that destroyed Magalis's home dates back to 2017, the year when Hurricane Irma —a category five hurricane— affected more than 158,000 homes in Cuba, leaving 14,657 completely destroyed and more than 23,000 without roofs.
After Irma's passage, the regime promised to finance 50% of the construction materials' cost for the victims, but thousands of families never received that support, as documented by the OCDH.
The case of Magalis is not an exception. Repairing a home in Cuba after a hurricane is economically impossible for most of the population, with an average salary of barely 13 dollars a month compared to a basic cost of living that exceeds 138 dollars.
The housing crisis affecting thousands of Cuban families worsens year after year: the housing deficit exceeds 900,000 homes in 2026, with 35% of the housing stock in fair or poor technical condition.
The production of new homes has collapsed: in 2024, only 7,427 units were built—a 54% decrease compared to the previous year—and in 2025, only 22% of the planned annual target was achieved.
More than 94,000 homes remain awaiting recovery from damage caused by recent cyclones and earthquakes, including over 40,000 in Pinar del Río affected by Hurricane Ian in 2022.
Similar cases to that of Magalis have been documented in various provinces.
A Cuban woman reported the abandonment of her 90-year-old mother after the passage of a hurricane, and in Las Tunas, a mother with leukemia and her son live in misery without any intervention from the State.
The OCDH points out that 97% of Cubans have lost access to basic food, and seven out of ten have stopped having breakfast, lunch, or dinner, in a context where the regime continues to provide no effective response to those, like Magalis, who have been asking for help for almost a decade.
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