Quintero Ruballo stated that he has repeatedly informed the director of the unit of his situation, without receiving any response or solution so far.
HAVANA.- Authorities at the Canaleta maximum security prison, in the province of Ciego de Ávila, deny specialized medical care to the inmate Rodney Quintero Ruballoas reported by the prisoner himself in a telephone call made on Saturday, January 31, 2026.
Quintero Ruballo explained that in mid-November 2025 he suffered a fall while walking hurriedly through one of the prison corridors, hitting his face on the floor. The accident caused a crack in his upper jaw, for which he had to be admitted for a month to the Dr. Antonio Luaces Iraola University Hospital, in the capital of Avila.
At the time of discharge, the maxillofacial surgery specialist indicated follow-up by Stomatology, since it required the extraction of several teeth and the placement of a prosthesis. However, the inmate reported that said treatment has not been possible because the prison does not provide dental services.
As he explained, even if a specialist went to the prison, they would not be able to treat him, since the dental chair is broken. For this reason, the only viable alternative would be to transfer him to an external consultation.
However, the doctor at the penitentiary center has refused to issue the “lead”, an essential document to authorize the release of a prisoner for medical reasons, arguing that said order must be issued by a stomatologist, something that is impossible under current conditions.
Quintero Ruballo stated that he has repeatedly informed the director of the unit, Major Noel Morales López, of his situation, as well as the second in chief, Captain Jimmy Caballero Rodríguez, without having received any response or solution so far.
The young man also stated that as the weeks went by his teeth have become loose and the pain has increased, making it severely difficult for him to chew.
The inmate also denounced the terrible food conditions in Canaleta prison. According to him, breakfast usually consists of a herbal tea and a small bread “in one bite.” For lunch and dinner they are served a minimum portion of rice with a piece of food and, sometimes, an acidic dough apparently made with flour, generally in poor condition and with a bad smell. Sporadically they receive a watery broth with some fragments of poplar.
Rodney Quintero Ruballo is 20 years old and is a native of Sancti Spíritus. He was imprisoned on July 19, 2022, when he was 16 years old, and was a boxing student at the EFI Secondary School 23 in his province. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for the crimes of robbery, theft of equipment and carrying a knife.
