Bernardo Comas, amateur boxing world champion in 1982 and an iconic figure in Cuban sports during the 1980s, suffers from senile dementia at the age of 65 and lives in a home with leaks in Camagüey, under the care of his elderly mother and without access to medication or basic appliances.
This was documented by a visit from Cubanet to the home of the former boxer this Wednesday, where the outlet spoke with the athlete's mother.
The woman described a situation that worsens every time it rains: "When it rains, I can’t sleep. I have to hurry," she recounted, explaining that during those moments she has to move the furniture to find a dry corner where her son can rest.
Regarding the condition of the appliances in the property, she was categorical: "Nothing works here. Not the refrigerator, not the washing machine, not the fan—nothing. What’s here doesn’t work."
Comas receives a retirement pension of 8,000 Cuban pesos per month, while his mother receives a pension of 3,000 pesos. When asked if that amount is enough to cover the needs of the former athlete, the response was emphatic: "What is that supposed to cover? It’s not enough for anyone to live on."
In addition to economic precariousness, there is the inability to treat the illness that Comas suffers from. "There is no medicine for that type of illness here," his mother indicated.
Despite the fact that the regime officially recognizes Comas as a Gloria Deportiva de Cuba, his mother claims that this distinction has never translated into real support: "Since he has been here, since he retired, the Government has never provided him with any kind of assistance."
After the visibility gained by the case in recent weeks, officials began visiting the home. "Now, with everything that has happened, they have come," the mother acknowledged.
However, he clarified that the visits have not produced results: "So far, they haven't solved anything."
The family also reports that Comas has not received payments that he is supposedly owed for the gold medals from his career. A close acquaintance assured them that the money was already available in Camagüey, but the mother contradicts this: "He told me, 'The money is already here in Camagüey, it's all set.' But up to now, nothing has been paid."
Comas was born on November 14, 1960, and developed his career in Camagüey. His greatest achievement came at the 1982 Munich Amateur Boxing World Championship, where he won the gold medal in the 75-kilogram division by defeating the Finn Tarmo Uusivirta in the final.
In the semifinals, he had defeated the American Iran Barkley, who years later would become a professional world champion in the middleweight division. The following year, he reaffirmed his status as a continental figure by winning the title at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas.
The case of Comas is not isolated. Recently, the family of Olympic champion Andrés Aldama reported a similar situation: the former boxer lives in a dilapidated apartment in Matanzas suffering from dementia and diabetes.
Previously, the former boxer Gaspar Casamayor was seen asking for money on the streets of Santiago de Cuba despite having the same distinction of Gloria Deportiva, and the former athlete Aleida Palomo was reported to be ill and begging in that same city.
In light of this series of complaints, the national commissioner of Athlete Support at INDER, Wilmer Lewis Calvo, denied before the Mesa Redonda that the sports heroes were being neglected, asserting that there are support structures in place.
The reality documented by the independent press in Camagüey, Matanzas, and Santiago de Cuba contradicts that version.
Filed under: