Sonia Díaz, wife of the Cuban former boxer Andrés Aldama, Olympic champion in Moscow 1980 and silver medalist in Montreal 1976, has publicly requested assistance due to the difficult situation her family is facing in Matanzas.
The request was shared by historian and activist Alina Bárbara López Hernández, a resident of the same neighborhood, Armando Mestre, where the family lives. She reported on Facebook issues related to housing, food shortages, lack of medication, and the absence of responses from the authorities.
"Sonia asked me to help raise awareness about the situation her family is facing. They live in the Armando Mestre neighborhood, in an apartment on the fourth floor that has serious structural issues and leaks from all sides," López Hernández wrote.
He explained that months ago the provincial director of the National Institute of Sports (INDER) in Matanzas authorized a team to carry out repairs on the house, but the work remains unfinished.
"They left the work half done because, according to the brigade leader, there was no budget to pay for the job. They are still waiting for a solution," he pointed out.
In addition to material difficulties, there are health problems within the family.
Aldama's son has been suffering from a psychiatric illness since adolescence and needs to take olanzapine permanently. However, according to the family, they have not been able to obtain the medication from the pharmacies.
The former boxer, 70 years old, also suffers from dementia and diabetes.
“She tells me that her husband Andrés suffers from dementia and is also diabetic, that they are facing a difficult situation with a lack of food, and that even so they have approached the government and INDER without any results,” reported the activist.
Andrés Aldama, born on April 9, 1956, in Matanzas, is one of the historical figures in Cuban boxing. He won a silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, after losing in the final to the American Sugar Ray Leonard.
Four years later, he won the Olympic title in Moscow 1980 in the welterweight division by defeating the Ugandan John Mugabi.
The complaint regarding Aldama brings to mind other recent cases of former figures in Cuban sports who have been portrayed in precarious conditions.
In July, former Olympic basketball player Félix Morales Alfonso, also from Matanzas, was seen in an apparent state of abandonment in Cárdenas.
In March, family and friends reported that former boxer Gaspar Casamayor, recognized as "Sports Glory" by INDER, was asking for money on the streets of Santiago de Cuba.
The shortage of olanzapine mentioned by Aldama's family occurs amid a severe medication crisis in Cuba. In June 2026, between 69% and 70% of the drugs included in the Cuban basic drug list were completely unavailable or had low national coverage.
"The family of Aldama, like that of many people who brought glory to national sports, and like many Cubans, finds itself in a state of poverty and helplessness," concluded López Hernández.
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