A family from the municipality of Madruga, in the province of Mayabeque, transported their grandfather's coffin on a cart pulled by a classic car (almedrón), after waiting for hours for a funeral vehicle that never arrived.
The burial was scheduled for 10:00 am on Thursday, but it could only take place around 8:00 pm, according to the testimony of family members shared by the page on Facebook NiO Reportando Un Crimen.
The images show the coffin on a trailer towed by a classic turquoise car traveling along a worn rural road surrounded by vegetation.
In the comments, some users debated whether it was a horse-drawn cart or a "almendrón." One person clarified that they had placed the coffin on the cart—without the horse—tied to the car.
The scene sparked outrage among users. "You can't even die with dignity anymore," wrote one person. Another recalled that there are three services that must never fail in any municipality: firefighters, ambulances, and funeral transport.
A third comment noted that, about a year ago, another deceased person in Mayabeque had to be transported in a tricycle for the same reason. "Sadly, that doesn’t matter to anyone; their own are safe," summarized another user.
The province is facing issues with funeral transportation. In July 2025, Radio Mayabeque reported that the provincial west had only two funeral vehicles to serve its 11 municipalities, a situation that caused waits of several hours and even over a day.
In September 2024, family members from another town in Mayabeque had to carry a coffin on foot for two kilometers to the cemetery due to the lack of funeral transportation.
In February last, a family from Holguín improvised a coffin using cardboard and adhesive tape due to a lack of available caskets. In July, another funeral procession was captured transporting a coffin on a cart pulled by a tricycle.
The deficiencies also extend to other provinces. In Ciego de Ávila, only eight of the 19 funeral vehicles were operational, while in Camagüey, only one was functioning for the entire city.
At the beginning of October, the analyst Frank Rodríguez reported that in several Cuban cities, burials were being conducted in mass graves because families could not afford a coffin.
Weeks earlier, the activist Lara Crofs warned that the funeral services were "completely overwhelmed" and that obtaining a dignified burial depended on informal payments or each family's connections.
On her part, architect Ileana Pérez Drago also questioned the situation and stated that Cuba needs to "dispose of its trash and bury its dead in coffins", a criticism that encapsulates the deterioration of basic services, which even affects the farewell of the deceased.
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