Authorities retrieve the body of a man who died three days ago in his home in Santiago de Cuba following a report

The body of Francisco Mayor Delis, 71 years old, remained in his apartment in the Abel Santamaría neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba for approximately three days without the authorities removing it, according to a report published this Sunday by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.

The deceased resided in building 63, apartment 5, third floor, Micro 2 of that neighborhood. Neighbors last saw him on Thursday on the balcony of his home; since then, no one has seen him alive again.

It was the smell coming from the apartment that alerted the building's residents this morning. According to the statement received from Mayeta Labrada, doctors and police officers arrived at the scene, confirmed the death, but the body remained inside the residence waiting for the vehicle that was supposed to transport it, which did not show up for hours.

"Since early hours this Sunday, neighbors continue to wait as the smell spreads throughout the building," wrote the journalist, who also noted that one of the deceased's sons would be detained and had not received permission to see his father. This last detail still requires independent confirmation.

Mayeta Labrada explained that the report initially came in anonymously via Facebook, and she decided to publish it as confirmed only after a direct source provided her with photographs, the full name of the deceased, and the exact location. "Now there are direct sources, a name, a specific location, and graphic material. That changes the level of information available, although there are still aspects to verify," she clarified.

The journalist posed questions that the residents are also asking: "Why, after several hours, is the body still inside the home? Is there really no vehicle available to transport it? What institution is responsible in a situation like this?"

This type of situation is indicative of a documented collapse of the funeral services in Cuba, worsened between 2025 and 2026. In Ciego de Ávila, only eight out of 19 funeral vehicles were operational in October 2025. In Camagüey, a single vehicle serviced the entire city in December of that same year. In Holguín, authorities even blamed the families themselves for the delays in body retrieval. In Pinar del Río, families carried the coffin on foot to the cemetery due to a lack of funeral transportation.

The scarcity of fuel, maintenance-free vehicles, and inactive crematoriums are the recurring causes of a system that, in practice, leaves Cuban families without answers in the most difficult moments.