The Cuban regime awarded the "Labor Heroism" Medal to 51 healthcare workers who excelled in assisting those affected during Hurricane Melissa, on October 29, 2025.
The Presidential Decree 1286 was signed by Miguel Díaz-Canel on September 7, 2026, and , which in its includes a total of six presidential decrees for different honors.
The recognition is based on the , which regulates the System of Honorary Titles and Decorations of Cuba and establishes that the "Labor Achievement" Medal may be awarded to those who "demonstrate courage and audacity in the protection of material goods and in recovery efforts following natural disasters, catastrophes, or similar events."
The decree explicitly cites the actions of the 51 professionals during the health recovery efforts in the eastern part of the country following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which impacted that region on October 29, 2025, as one of the most destructive cyclones in years for those provinces.
According to reports from the Red Cross and the UN, Melissa left more than 60,000 homes destroyed or damaged, 461 health facilities affected, and approximately 2.2 million people severely impacted in Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín, Guantánamo, and Las Tunas.
The Pan American Health Organization reported that basic health services in those provinces were progressively restored, with normalization recorded by the end of November 2025.
The decoration, signed almost ten months after the cyclone, recognizes the workers for their "exemplary behavior," their "dedication to fulfilling every task," and their efforts during that health emergency, according to the text of the decree.
According to the second article of the decree, the award and delivery of the medal was entrusted to the Secretary General of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, who was elected to the position at the conclusion of the XXII Congress of the CTC in June 2026.
Among the 51 honorees are workers with names such as José Raúl Pérez Mora, Caridad Margarita García Peña, George Orduñez Matos, and Noelia Columbie Columbie, among others listed in the Single Annex of the decree.
The Extraordinary Special Gazette No. 16 of 2026 also includes honors such as the Order "For Sports Merit," the Medal "For Friendship," the Medal "For the Defense of the Fatherland and the Unity of the Neighborhood," the Medal "Jesús Menéndez," and the Medal "Internationalist Worker," all awarded through separate presidential decrees signed on the same date.
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