HAVANA, Cuba.- From the penitentiary center of maximum rigor of Valle Grandelocated in the municipality of La Lisa, west of the Cuban capital, the prisoner Lester Saínz Padrón denounces the lack of medical attention to which he is a victim by the prison authorities and the health system.
Lester Saínz Padrón is 31 years old, a native of the Romerillo neighborhood, in the Playa municipality, and before being imprisoned he worked as a driver for hire in the private sector.
As detailed, he has been imprisoned in Valle Grande since October 28, 2021 because he bought some household items and appliances that turned out to be stolen. He points out that they accuse him of the crime of reception, but until the moment of communicating the complaint he had not yet received a prosecutor’s petition document nor had they notified him of the date of the trial.
Saínz Padrón points out that he is hypertensive, has fat in his heart and that said organ in his case is larger than the cavity, and stresses that in prison they have not provided him with medical treatment for any of these conditions.
He also adds that this situation has been raised for months and on multiple occasions both to the head of the prison, Major Yoel Verdecia Estrada, and to the second unit chief, Major José Luis Ferrer Iglesias.
According to what Saínz Padrón told CubaNet, on September 12 he was taken to the Marianao Military Hospital. However, instead of treating him at that health center, they sent him without explanation to the Dr. Salvador Allende Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital, popularly known as the Covadonga clinic, on Calzada del Cerro.
However, at the clinic they made it clear to him that his condition was not being treated there and they in turn referred him to the “General Calixto García” University Hospital in Vedado. The prisoner points out that when they arrived at that hospital, the guards were apparently already in a hurry and tired from the long journey, so, given the pressure of the soldiers, the doctor on duty did not examine him properly, but merely took his blood pressure and reassure him that he was “okay”.
Saínz Padrón also wants to point out that throughout the journey they kept him handcuffed to his hands and feet with beads. On the other hand, the guards brought water and food for them and they ate and drank in front of him, but they did not provide him with any water or food.
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