Alessandro Di Battista, a 48-year-old former Italian deputy, underwent emergency surgery this Saturday at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana after experiencing a sudden deterioration in his health while in an ambulance en route to the airport for repatriation to Italy.
The politician, a historical figure of the 5 Star Movement (M5S), had been hospitalized in that center since the end of August, when hesuffered a sudden illness in Santa Clara during a reporting trip he was undertaking for the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano and the platform TvLoft.
The exact nature of the intervention has not been publicly disclosed.
According to the Italian portal Virgilio, the Cuban and Italian doctors decided to perform surgery after an urgent consultation, upon noticing that the patient's clinical condition had changed suddenly.
The return to Rome remains without a defined date: specialists hope that Di Battista's condition stabilizes before authorizing any transfer.
The association Schierarsi, founded by Di Battista himself, asked on its social media for "maximum discretion and caution in the dissemination of information, pending further updates."
His partner, Sahra Lahouasnia, stays with him in Havana.
Sources close to the politician, cited by Corriere della Sera, indicated that "weeks and a lot of patience will be needed," while emphasizing that "the process has not gone as planned, but undoubtedly the best decisions for his health have been made."
The case dates back to August 28, when Di Battista lost consciousness for several hours in Santa Clara, where he had arrived six days earlier to produce his reports.
He was initially treated in a hospital in that city and then transferred to Ameijeiras, the main national reference center in Cuba, with 650 beds and high-complexity specialties such as neurosurgery and intensive care.
On August 30, two specialists from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome traveled to Cuba to join the medical team that was caring for him.
An official diagnosis has not been confirmed; some Italian media have suggested a possible stroke, a hypothesis that neither the doctors, the family, nor Di Battista himself have validated.
At the beginning of September, the politician announced that he was feeling better and would be departing via air ambulance covered by his private travel insurance, thus eliminating any cost to the Italian state. The transfer was postponed several times until the emergency surgery this Sunday ultimately put it on hold indefinitely.
The case has reignited the debate in Italy about the state of the Cuban healthcare system: the Cuban Minister of Public Health acknowledged in February 2026 to Associated Press that the system was "on the brink of collapse," marked by shortages of medications, anesthetics, and energy resources.
"Alessandro is combative; he will not give up," stated an anonymous former deputy quoted by Corriere della Sera.
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