The Kingstown Police, capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have not found the three responsible for stabbing Alfredo Batista Salgado, a member of the Cuban medical brigade in that country, on July 1. The 53-year-old doctor, injured in the middle of the street, underwent an operation in the intensive care unit of the Milton Cato hospital, where he is still convalescing.
Due to the friendship of the San Vicentino government with the Havana regime, the aggression has set off alarm bells in the highest spheres. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves – one of Miguel Díaz-Canel’s main allies on the Caribbean scene – said he felt “terrible” over the incident with Batista.
The doctor, born in Manzanillo, Granma, was on his way home, located on McKies Hill street, from an event in Victoria Park, when he was attacked by three individuals. According to a local newspaperBatista – seriously wounded in the abdomen with a knife – “collapsed” in front of the building of Her Majesty’s Prisons in White Chapel, where he was discovered “with his intestines exposed” and transferred to emergencies.
Batista – seriously wounded in the abdomen with a knife – “collapsed” in front of Her Majesty’s Prisons building in White Chapel, where he was discovered
“Comrade Ralph” – as the prime minister is known for his Marxist political projection – appeared on national radio and lamented that a “Cuban doctor” was so “severely injured” in his country. Gonsalves, who also serves as Minister of National Security, said he receives constant reports from the Police about the Batista case. He concluded his speech by assuring the Havana regime that his country showed “great kindness” to the Cuban health workers and stressed the “particular” nature of the incident.
The Saint Vincentian Health Minister, Jimmy Prince, and the permanent secretary of that ministry, Cuthbert Knights, also spoke out about the attack. Prince condemned the “brutal attack,” according to local newspapers, and said he was “optimistic” about his recovery. For their part, police officers have refused to speak to the press.
Batista, who worked as a doctor in the Marriqua district – at the Chateaubelair hospital – was a first-degree specialist in comprehensive general medicine and in physical medicine and rehabilitation. He has participated in the Cuban medical brigades in Brazil, Venezuela and Sierra Leone, the latter destination during the coronavirus pandemic.
Díaz-Canel, carried out in December 2022 a tour by three Caribbean countries including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. During the trip, she visited a medical center that has Cuban professionals. The Modern Medical and Diagnostic Center in Georgetown, officially opened on July 2, 2018, was built with the help of Cuba and several Cuban doctors are on its staff.
In an act of public support for Díaz-Canel during his visit, “Comrade Ralph” demanded that the United States not interfere with “Cuba’s international humanitarian mission.” “I make this plea to my American brothers and sisters. Leave Cuba alone in its internationalist humanitarian mission. I dare say that since the dawn of civilization there is no country in the world, nor people, that has been as self-sacrificing as Cuba. revolutionary,” he exclaimed. “We ask from time to time for help from the Cuban government and people, and they come to us willingly, and the United States must stop this lie.”
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