The frontal structure of the Hospital Docente Clínico Quirúrgico Carlos Enrique Font Pupo in Banes, in the province of Holguín, collapsed on Sunday afternoon, according to reports shared on social media and a report by journalist Flabio Gutiérrez, a contributor to the provincial newspaper Ahora. No casualties were reported.
The collapsed area corresponds to the exterior section of the hospital front, where family members and companions of patients typically wait. According to a report by 14ymedio, that section had been closed off approximately three months prior—in around August 2026—specifically due to the risk of collapse, and the lobby was opened as an alternative entrance for patients and staff.
However, there is no record of any repair work being carried out on the structure during that period.
A witness identified as Euvel Sarmiento Isla confirmed it in the comments of a Facebook post: "There was a sign to prevent access to that area, but many violated it for various reasons. Among those who thought the structure wouldn't collapse in the short term was me, and it fell when no one was expecting it."
The report did not come from official sources. The newspaper Ahora, where Gutiérrez has been collaborating for seven years, had not reported the incident at the time the information was published. It was the journalist who alerted his followers on social media and expressed gratitude that there were no loss of lives.
Gutiérrez did not hold back on his criticisms: "This hospital has been a topic of discussion since its founding. It is not acceptable that just a few days after its inauguration (in 2001), it already had leaks. Its comfort has always been highly questioned, as well as its service."
A social media user captured the sentiments of many: "Incredible, a relatively new hospital, abundant resources, and extensive publicity. There it is, the result and silence as the response."
The collapse in Banes is not an isolated incident. In recent months, several Cuban hospitals have faced complaints regarding structural deterioration: in November 2025, part of the roof at Calixto García Hospital in Havana collapsed; that same month, Manuel Ascunce Domenech Hospital in Camagüey suspended surgeries due to ceiling collapses in operating rooms; in April 2026, a fire affected the Saturnino Lora Hospital in Santiago de Cuba; and in May 2026, another fire forced the evacuation of Manuel Fajardo Hospital in Havana.
The Pan American Health Organization has reported damage to at least 385 healthcare facilities in Cuba, including collapsed roofs and sewage under patients' beds.
On the same Sunday as the collapse, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, publicly acknowledged serious failures in hospitals and polyclinics across the country: breakdowns in elevators, boilers, generators, laundries, and water systems, as well as shortages of medications and equipment. These statements were made at the conclusion of a visit by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, led by Miguel Díaz-Canel.
On that same day, Díaz-Canel stated that "health in our country is a fundamental human right, an achievement of the revolution and not a commodity or a privilege." His words contrast with data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), which in May 2026 acknowledged a shortage of 91.5% of medications and medical supplies in Cuba, a figure that has steadily increased from the 50% recorded at the end of 2021.
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