A 21-year-old man identified as Yordi died after suffering a serious motorcycle accident in Regla, Havana, while his family claims that the ambulance took 56 minutes to arrive to provide assistance.
“Today I am experiencing one of the greatest pains of my life. Today they let my cousin die,” his cousin Wendy De La Rosa wrote to CiberCuba, who described the agonizing wait of the family after the accident.
"He had a terrible motorcycle accident in Cuba and urgently needed an ambulance. The ambulance took 56 minutes to arrive. 56 minutes that can feel like an eternity for someone fighting for their life," he reported.
The case was also reported by Cántalo TV, where friends and residents of Regla challenged the response of the emergency services.
Wendy expressed her outrage over the delay, although she was careful to point out that she cannot determine if a quicker arrival of the ambulance would have saved Yordi's life.
"I don't know if those 56 minutes could have changed the outcome, and I'm not going to assert something that only the doctors can determine. But I do know that waiting 56 minutes for an ambulance after a serious accident is a reality that no family should have to endure," he stated.
"How is a family supposed to accept this? How can we be asked to remain silent when an injured person needs help and has to wait almost an hour for an ambulance?" she questioned.
Other testimonies published in the complaint from Cántalo TV claim that the wait may have actually been longer.
"The ambulance took much longer, it was 1 hour and 10 minutes," assured a user.
There were also reports about the conditions of the Integrated Medical Emergency System (SIUM) in Regla. One person claimed that there were issues with electricity, fuel, and basic materials, although these assertions have not been independently verified.
"My cousin is not a number."
The family insists that behind the complaints about the deterioration of emergency services, there are real lives and families suffering the consequences.
"My cousin is not a number. He had a life, a family, dreams, and people who loved him," Wendy wrote to this outlet.
The death of Yordi has caused expressions of grief among his loved ones. Rosa Espinosa, another family member, described the impact that the loss has particularly had on his mother and grandmother.
"Once again, pain overwhelms the family. This is very, very hard for them. A child of only 21 years has lost his life, leaving a family with a broken heart, a mother who feels dead inside, and a grandmother," he wrote.
Espinosa also lamented the "helplessness" of the relatives who are far away and could not be with the young man one last time.
The family called on neighbors, friends, and loved ones to gather this Saturday, September 12, at noon in front of the Lidia and Clodomira polyclinic in Regla to demand answers about what happened and the actions of the emergency services.
Reports of ambulance delays in Cuba
The case of Yordi brings to the forefront the complaints about long waits to receive emergency care in Cuba.
In April of this year, Alexis Rosales Aldama died in Santiago de Cuba after his family reported waiting for more than four hours for an ambulance.
In June 2025, an elderly man struck by a bus in Havana lost his life after waiting for more than 45 minutes for an emergency unit, according to witnesses.
In February of this year, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, acknowledged the seriousness of the situation of the Cuban health system, amid the energy crisis and the scarcity of resources.
For Wendy, her cousin's death transforms those shortcomings into a family tragedy.
"While some speak of achievements and a supposedly functioning healthcare system, my family is burying a loved one today," she lamented.
And he ended his message to CiberCuba with a plea: "Let their death not go unnoticed. Let someone answer. Because 56 minutes may seem like just a number… until those 56 minutes become the final wait for someone you love."
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