A Cuban exiled doctor denounced this Thursday the central contradiction in the speech that Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla delivered before the UN General Assembly: while showcasing a bottle of the Cuban medication NeuralCIM® and claiming that the embargo prevents seven million Americans from accessing it, he did not say a single word about the more than 160,000 Cubans with dementia who also do not receive it.
Miguel Ángel Ruano Sánchez, president of the Cuban Free Medical Association and resident in Colombia, published a detailed response on Facebook in which he dismantled, point by point, the intervention of the Cuban chancellor.
"He is more concerned about whether Americans will take it, but he doesn't mention Cubans and whether they can take it," wrote Ruano Sánchez.
On Wednesday, during the annual debate on the U.S. embargo against Cuba, Rodríguez held up a photograph of a container of the neuroprotector and posed a rhetorical question: "Why does the embargo against Cuba prevent seven million Americans from receiving the benefits of this unique medication, which can address Alzheimer's, senile dementia, and neurodegenerative diseases, with a proven treatment that is incomparably superior to its counterparts?"
The visual strategy of the chancellor resembled that used the day before by the U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz, who showcased photographs of the luxuries of the Cuban elite at the UN: Fidel Castro's Rolex watches, a mansion in Varadero, and luxury items belonging to Díaz-Canel.
Ruano Sánchez noted that between 160,000 and 170,000 people live with dementia in Cuba—approximately 1.4% of the population—and that none of them have had access to NeuralCIM.
The doctor also questioned the scientific validity of the product: according to official records, the phase III clinical trial of the drug included only 413 patients.
"Only 413 patients in phase III of the supposed clinical trial of the product were involved, according to official records. Who do you intend to deceive?" he wrote.
Bruno Rodríguez also mentioned Pemetrexed, a medication used in the treatment of lung cancer that, as he pointed out, is produced in the United States. The chancellor stated that U.S. restrictions prevent its acquisition for patients who need it in Cuba.
Rodríguez's argument also contains a fundamental legal flaw. The U.S. embargo does not prohibit the export of medications to Cuba. Since the approval of the Cuban Democracy Act (Torricelli) of 1992, U.S. legislation explicitly allows the export of medicines, supplies, and health equipment to the island under license, with a general policy of approval.
Waltz himself recalled during the debate that American companies exported goods to Cuba worth 876 million dollars in the first eight months of 2026.
Ruano Sánchez also pointed out that in the United States there are already approved neuroprotectants for Alzheimer's—Leqembi, Kisunla, Memantine, and the recent Zanvastro—which weakens the argument that NeuralCIM has no competition in that market.
"What's the point of selling it in the U.S. if there are enough patients in Cuba?" the doctor asked.
The UN session in which Rodríguez intervened concluded with the approval of the Cuban resolution against the embargo with 130 votes in favor, 17 against, and 25 abstentions, the worst outcome for Havana since it began presenting this initiative in 1992. In 2025, it had received 165 favorable votes.
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