The former Italian parliamentarian Alessandro Di Battista arrived in Rome this Saturday after spending two weeks hospitalized in Cuba, where he underwent emergency neurosurgery following a stroke while conducting a report on the island.
According to reports from Corriere della Sera, the air ambulance took off from Havana on Friday, September 11, at 5:00 PM (Italian time) and landed at Ciampino Airport in Rome at around 7:30 AM. From there, Di Battista was transported by ambulance to Policlínico Gemelli, where he will continue his recovery.
The return journey required special conditions: the flight was conducted at low altitude and with stops in Nassau and Luxembourg, lasting approximately 12 hours, tailored to the patient’s clinical condition.
Known popularly as "Dibba," Di Battista, at the age of 48, was in Cuba to prepare a report for the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano when he experienced a severe headache and lost consciousness on August 28.
He was treated urgently in a hospital in Santa Clara and later transferred to the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana, one of Cuba's main hospital facilities, specializing in neurosurgery.
During his hospitalization, his partner, Sahra Lahouasnia, and two specialists from the Gemelli Polyclinic—a neurosurgeon and a resuscitator—arrived in Cuba from Italy to join in his care.
On September 4, an initial transfer by air ambulance was attempted, funded by the private travel insurance that the former parliament member had purchased before departing. Di Battista himself announced it in an Instagram message: "I feel better today. I will leave Cuba on September 4 with an air ambulance, the costs of which will be covered by the insurance company with which I contracted a policy before leaving."
However, in the early hours of that same day, his condition worsened, and the Cuban doctors decided to perform emergency surgery directly in Havana, ruling out any transfer.
The intervention was successful. The Schierarsi association, founded by Di Battista himself, reported that the patient "is coping as best as possible during the post-intervention phase." Days later, medical sources confirmed that he had managed to speak and was showing "excellent progress."
The case sparked a political controversy in Italy regarding the use of state flights for citizens abroad. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, responded with a strong argument: "We have never left an Italian alone," and recalled that by 2026, 57 humanitarian flights had already been carried out for Italian citizens overseas.
Di Battista was a deputy of the Movimento 5 Stelle from 2013 to 2018 and left the party in February 2021 in disagreement with the movement's support for Mario Draghi's government. Since then, he has been focusing on journalism and activism.
The former parliamentarian had sent a message from Cuba at the beginning of his hospitalization that summed up his determination: "I will do everything in my power to return soon."
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