Outrage in Camagüey Over Teen's Death and Use of State Truck as Funeral Vehicle

The death of a 15-year-old girl in Camagüey has sparked widespread outrage on social media after a video emerged showing her body being transported in a makeshift state vehicle used as a hearse, due to the lack of resources in provincial hospitals.

Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón shared the footage depicting several men carrying a stretcher covered with a green sheet to a pickup truck. According to reports, the incident occurred on Thursday, November 13, and the vehicle was "loaned by a company" because no funeral car was available.

"A girl, just 15 years old... it's the worst thing in the world. The funeral car was provided by a company because there is no hearse here," is heard in the video, set amidst an atmosphere of sorrow.

The images, which quickly spread across social media, have been perceived by many Cubans as an indication of the country's healthcare system collapse amidst a resurgence of arboviruses—such as dengue, chikungunya, and Oropouche—and shortages of essential supplies in hospitals and funeral homes.

Conflicting Accounts

After the video's release, a user named Enid Bárbara Valcárcel Moreno, who claims to be the mother of a doctor at the clinic where the case was handled, commented that the girl arrived deceased and that the preliminary diagnosis did not confirm a virus connection.

"My son received the case already deceased. An autopsy was advised because symptoms were sudden: high fever and a small amount of hematemesis. His medical opinion is that it might have been an aneurysm or another undiagnosed internal condition," she noted.

However, a person claiming to be the victim's sister, identified as Sheila Ginarte, responded harshly, disputing this account and condemning the lack of care and respect in hospitals.

"My sister had nothing, just 15 years and a zest for life. She died from the virus. There are no medications, nothing. And now they claim she had another illness," she retorted.

A Symptom of Deeper Crisis

This incident occurs amidst an unofficially acknowledged health crisis, where the regime has admitted active transmission of arboviruses in over 30 municipalities, with hospitals overwhelmed.

While authorities announce strategies on television to "combat the epidemic like COVID-19," citizens face death with resignation and a lack of basic resources, even for burying their loved ones with dignity.

The Camagüey video, both painful and revealing, has become emblematic of the deterioration of the Cuban healthcare system: a nation where neither the living receive care nor the deceased can be laid to rest with dignity.