Cuban doctor Alexander Figueredo Izaguirre, who is now in exile and known for his vocal criticism of the island's healthcare system, released a chilling video on Tuesday. The footage, reportedly from a Cuban hospital, reveals the use of trucks to transport bodies due to the breakdown of the funeral and healthcare systems.
"What you're seeing isn't from 2021 [during the COVID-19 pandemic], it's from 2025. Trucks are back at the hospitals. Bodies are leaving without diagnosis. Staff are exhausted, lacking supplies, medications, and words," the doctor wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter), sharing the video he claims was obtained from a healthcare insider.
The video portrays a grim scene at a hospital yard where a cargo truck is parked next to a door from which several men emerge, loading what appears to be a coffin onto the vehicle's bed. The number of people involved and their movements suggest the heavy weight they are transporting.
According to Figueredo Izaguirre, this scene underscores the severity of the epidemic resurgence in Cuba, which the regime is attempting to downplay.
Undeclared Health Crisis
Alongside the video, the doctor issued a powerful accusation: "Cuba is experiencing a brutal epidemic resurgence: dengue, chikungunya, Oropouche, influenza, and unknown respiratory viruses are overwhelming hospitals. Patients come in with fever, seizures, or breathing difficulties, and within hours, they're dead... without a clear cause, without reagents, antibiotics, oxygen, or enough doctors."
Figueredo Izaguirre's testimony joins those of activists, healthcare providers, and other civil society voices in Cuba, who are raising alarms about the epidemiological crisis and unsanitary conditions exacerbated by government neglect, hunger, drug shortages, and the collapse of healthcare services.
Activist Amelia Calzadilla also called for a "humanitarian intervention" in Cuba on Monday, describing it as a "dictatorship allowing its people to die."
Both Calzadilla and Figueredo Izaguirre agree that the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) has lost epidemiological control and that the government is concealing the true numbers of infections and deaths.
"While the regime insists everything is under control, hospitals lack hygiene, reagents, and transparency. Even hearses are no longer sufficient. Trucks again. Silence again. Cuba repeating its own healthcare nightmare," the doctor stated.
In this regard, Figueredo Izaguirre demands three urgent actions: the declaration of a national health emergency, the immediate entry of international medical aid, and genuine epidemiological transparency.
Cuba's Need for Medicine, Oxygen, and Truth
In his message, the doctor highlighted that many current deaths "go unrecorded, undiagnosed, unexplained."
According to his sources, hospitals lack reagents to confirm viruses, basic antibiotics, and sufficient medical staff due to mass emigration and the exhaustion of professionals remaining on the island.
"Every body leaving in those trucks represents a life that could have been saved. A mother, a child, an elderly person, a doctor who fell without resources," he lamented.
The images have sparked outrage on social media, with Cuban users inside and outside the country asserting that morgues are overflowing and that the government remains utterly silent about the outbreak's true scope.
Meanwhile, the population continues to endure power outages, medication shortages, and overwhelmed hospitals, in a scenario many compare to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet devoid of official data or international assistance.
"Cuba doesn't need slogans. Cuba needs medicine, oxygen, and truth," the doctor concluded.
Understanding Cuba's Healthcare Crisis
What are the main diseases causing the healthcare collapse in Cuba?
The main diseases contributing to the healthcare collapse in Cuba include dengue, chikungunya, Oropouche, influenza, and various unknown respiratory viruses.
Why are trucks being used to transport bodies in Cuban hospitals?
Trucks are being used because the funeral and healthcare systems have collapsed, and there are not enough hearses to manage the number of bodies.
What actions are being demanded to address the healthcare crisis in Cuba?
Urgent actions include declaring a national health emergency, allowing the entry of international medical aid, and providing genuine epidemiological transparency.