The Cuban writer assured that the Government of the Island “has the duty, the moral obligation, the URGENT responsibility to resign.”
MIAMI, United States. – Cuban writer Wendy Guerra posted an urgent appeal on Facebook in which he describes a scenario of “profound unhealthiness” on the Island, with “thousands of people” who “die or suffer (…) due to the proliferation of known or unknown diseases and viruses,” and accuses the authorities of “looking the other way.”
“The international community must know this,” wrote Guerra, who also stressed that “a failed State that is not capable of saving a people has the duty, the moral obligation, the URGENT responsibility to resign.”
Recent reports from international organizations and independent media document outbreaks of arboviruses, shortages of medicines and deterioration of basic services, all aggravated by the impact of Hurricane Melissa in the east of the country at the end of October.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) points out that Cuba is going through “an unprecedented crisis” with epidemics of dengue and Oropouche, lack of laboratory reagents and antibiotics, electrical outages and a deficit of drinking water that increase the risk of communicable diseases.
The Cuban Government itself has recognized the shortage of 461 medications from the basic list of 651 (70%), while citizens resort to informal networks to obtain essential drugs.
The health alert for arbovirus has been confirmed by official sources. So far, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) has recognized at least three deaths from dengue so far this year and has reported to PAHO tens of thousands of suspected cases of Oropouche fever, with neurological complications in some patients. In parallel, PAHO warns of a sustained regional context of dengue this year.
Guerra describes Cuba as “a giant landfill.” Both independent media and foreign agencies accredited on the Island They have reported accumulations of garbage on corners of Havana and water shortages, problems that add to the daily crisis. This deterioration of environmental conditions favors the proliferation of mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti and other vectors, as PAHO agrees when highlighting the link between poor hygiene, flooding and increased risk of outbreaks.
The writer also denounces that “there is hardly any public transportation service to get to the health centers.” In 2024, internal cargo transportation fell 19%, an indicator used as a thermometer of economic activity and logistics on the Island. according to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
Melissa hit the eastern provinces especially hard: it left communities isolated and forced numerous rescues to be carried out in cut-off areas. The Presidency has reported 45,282 homes that have been totally or partially damaged.
The energy crisis aggravates the health situation described by Guerra —“blackouts (…) are everyday”—: This year Cuba chained at least five national blackouts in less than 12 months, a reflection of an obsolete system and chronic fuel deficit. The outages have interrupted essential services such as water and internet and forced families to cook with firewood or charcoal, a situation with direct implications for public health and hospital care.
In his text, Guerra states that “independent journalists who are not imprisoned, ‘regulated’, or banished, risk their freedom.” Indeed, human rights organizations maintain that severe restrictions on freedom of expression persist. He World Report 2025 Human Rights Watch documents the continuity of repression and arbitrary detentions; This year, Amnesty International has denounced new measures against activists and journalists under a restrictive legal framework.
Guerra also highlighted the combined effect of poverty and hunger—“every day, thousands of people go to bed without food”—and the role of exile in daily survival. Although there are no recent official figures on remittances published by the Government, PAHO and various media describe a socioeconomic crisis that has eroded the state’s capacity to provide basic services, with a direct impact on food, hygiene and health.
Finally, the author blames the authorities for the “collapse” and demands a political solution: “Maintaining a non-existent utopia—it is worth more to them—than the life of an entire people.”
