No official source indicated the cause of the death of the doctor, who would have arrived in Mexico in July 2024.
CDMX, Mexico. – The Cuba Embassy in Mexico He reported on Tuesday The “sudden death” of Dr. Santiago Zunilda Torres Rodríguez, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, who provided services in Veracruz as part of one of the medical brigades exported by the island’s regime to the Aztec country.
According to the official information, the doctor worked at the Civil Hospital “Dr. Luis F. Nachón” of the State of Veracruz. “From the diplomatic mission, the Medical Brigade and the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba we join the pain of his family and friends, ensuring all the consular support and managing his repatriation,” said the diplomatic headquarters.
Likewise, the representation of the island regime thanked “the authorities of the Mexican Social Security Institute for Welfare for its valuable efforts and support in this sensitive process.”
No official source indicated the cause of the death of the doctor, who would have arrived in Mexico in July 2024, according to Own publication on your Facebook profile.
According to the same source, the director of the Civil Hospital “Dr. Luis F. Nachón”, Roberto Alonso García, recognized the “valuable contribution” to the health system in Xalapa of the deceased doctor and paid tribute during a community event in the Veracruz capital.
For its part, the consulate of Cuba in Veracruz He reported on Facebook which coordinates the repatriation efforts of the remains of the doctor with Mexican authorities and Cuban entities. “The consulate of Cuba in Veracruz in collaboration with authorities of the State Prosecutor’s Office and the IMSS Welfare, as well as the representatives of medical services of Cuba, since yesterday [lunes 29 de septiembre]all the corresponding efforts and proceedings for the fastest repatriation of the remains of Dr. Zunilda Torres Rodríguez. ”
The death of the doctor occurs within the framework of the controversial program of hiring Cuban health professionals in Mexico. In A column published in The Herald of Mexico At the end of November 2024, the president of the Christian Democratic Organization of America, Mariana Gómez del Campo, stressed that the hiring of Cuban doctors was presented as “a measure of cooperation and solidarity for marginalized regions”, but that “behind” this facade operated “a deeply exploiting system.”
According to the leader, this hiring “conceals a harsh reality: the use of Cuban health workers under a human trafficking scheme, denounced internationally and promoted by opaque agreements between the Mexican government and the Diaz-Canel regime.”
He also argued that the specialists of the island are “merchandise to sustain the Cuban economy through its exploitation”, and that “these practices violate fundamental human rights, but the Mexican government ignores the complaints and ethical implications of this model.”
The presidency of Mexico, on the other hand, has defended the continuity of the agreements with Havana. The head of state, Claudia Sheinbaum, declared on September 8: “[Con] Cuban doctors are going to continue, it is an established agreement, it has everything in order and we will continue with that. ”
The Mexican government signed in July 2024 an agreement reached by 2,700 Cuban doctors in the country. Last June, an investigation of The Universal —Basada in an application for official information and contracts on the MX Purchase platform-said that the Executive had allocated “at least 2,019 million 98,000 pesos between 2022 and went from 2025” to finance the presence, transfer and maintenance of Cuban doctors, and that the IMSS-shrewing “had no knowledge of how much each professional received individually for their work”.
Various organizations and analysts have denounced that the international health missions of Cuba operate with retention of salaries and restrictions on mobility, and that constitute one of the main sources of income of the regime. In addition, Havana prevents the return to the island for eight years to professionals who leave their missions abroad.
