A 26-year-old Cuban diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia lives confined in a barred room within her own home in Velasco, a municipality of Gibara, province of Holguín.
The shortage of medications to treat her illness complicates the situation, as the young woman reacts violently towards her parents during the episodes.
The tragic case was brought to light by activist Noly Blak in a video on Facebook that went viral in just a few hours and has raised alarms about the institutional neglect faced by Cuban families with severely mentally ill individuals.
A family on the edge
Gretel was born on November 19, 1999, and began to show symptoms of the illness in 2012, when she was just 13 years old.
They are cared for by their parents: their mother, Jacqueline, who is 56 years old, and their father, who is 81, and moves with two canes after a bladder surgery in 2020 and subsequent tendinitis.
During her crisis episodes, the young girl can become violent and hit those who try to help her, even going so far as to knock her mother to the ground.
Due to the physical impossibility of controlling it, the family set up a space with bars.
The father puts it plainly: "I have to face the situation, I can't, just imagine, turn my back on it. I have to confront it, whatever comes my way."
"I have even started to cry thinking about that."
Jacqueline's testimony describes an extreme exhaustion that goes beyond crises: the anguish of being unable to feed her daughter.
“I have spent nights thinking about the food for the girl who was locked in that room. How will I buy her food? I have even cried thinking about it; I can't sleep at night,” declared the mother in the Noly Blak video.
The medications that Gretel receives —20 mg of olanzapine, 5 mg of haloperidol, and a third substance identified in the testimony as "venadolina" at 25 mg— create an appetite that is difficult to satisfy.
"She has that paranoid schizophrenia, and those medications really give her a lot of anxiety, a huge appetite. And we can’t afford to give her what she needs. I am desperate," Jacqueline explained.
The family receives social assistance from the State, but the mother is emphatic: “We are going through a very difficult situation, because what we receive from that social assistance is not enough for what this girl needs.”
On a previous occasion when Gretel's case circulated on social media, a doctor based in the United States identified as "Dr. Redis" sent medications to the family.
"A really great medication. A wonderful medication," Jacqueline recalled.
The State, absent
When Noly Blak asked Jacqueline if social workers visit the home, the response was clear: “No, don’t they come here? No way! None. Nobody.”
The family claims that, despite receiving social assistance from the state, the support is insufficient to meet Gretel's needs and that social workers do not visit the home.
So far, the health authorities of Holguín have not made any statement regarding the case, according to América Noticias USA, which reported on the case.
A recurring mental health crisis
The case of Gretel is not an isolated incident. It occurs amidst a collapse of the mental health system in Cuba that has been worsening for years.
The Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, acknowledged in July 2025 that only between 30% and 32% of the essential medicine supply was available in the country, and in April 2026 it was reported that BioCubaFarma barely met 40% of the national demand for psychotropic drugs.
Holguín has been the scene of similar cases: in July 2026, a psychiatric patient was found in severe malnutrition in Mayarí, although the authorities officially denied its existence.
The family appeals for solidarity
Noly Blak, whose real name is Norge Ernesto Díaz Blak, is known in Holguín for highlighting situations of extreme vulnerability.
During the video, Gretel briefly interacted with the activist. When asked if she wanted her parents, she replied without hesitation, "I want them."
The case not only highlights the shocking reality of a young woman behind bars; it is, above all, the cry of a family asking for medication, assistance, and an alternative to care for her with dignity.
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