Health of Matanzas denies a crisis in the Jagüey Grande hospital

The General Directorate of Health of Matanzas responded to versions spread on networks about deaths in the Jagüey Grande hospital. The center, identified as Hospital Territorial Iluminado Rodríguez, treats patients and is located in the Matanzas municipality of Jagüey Grande. The provincial institution released an official statement this Sunday through its Facebook page, according to information published by the sources. The authorities said that they did not detect an unusual number of deaths or health emergency in that establishment, according to the official statement.

The statement added that the hospital continued to offer services and attend to those who needed assistance, without interruptions reported by the provincial entity. The note did not explain who initiated the versions or specify how many deaths were mentioned in the messages that recently circulated there. The Matanzas authorities asked the population to remain calm and refrain from forwarding publications whose content has not been verified. They also recommended consulting only the official municipal and provincial channels to receive information on any matter related to the local hospital.

The statement came after claims about deaths spread on social networks and generated concern among users. The management did not provide figures for registered deaths or comparisons with other periods, nor did it describe the origin of the publications. The information released was limited to the institutional response and to confirm that medical care continued at the hospital. The sources agree that the official message did not offer additional details to clarify the versions that circulated about possible deaths.

The clarification comes as the health system faces shortages of medicines, supplies and resources, as well as electricity and fuel difficulties. The country's authorities have acknowledged the deterioration of health services, although they have attributed the difficulties to US sanctions. The government has pointed to the tightening of US sanctions and the energy restrictions implemented by Washington since the beginning of 2026. International activists have also warned that the restrictions linked to these sanctions have an impact on essential services, including the country's hospitals.

In recent months, other Cuban health institutions have also issued public responses to complaints or rumors related to their operation and care. In February, Salud de Mayarí responded to a complaint that spoke of fourteen deaths a day, while the official figure was four. In March, the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital denied that patients on mechanical ventilation had died due to power failures. In October, the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital denied that it was collapsed, according to the count published by one of the sources.

Five days before this statement, the Faustino Pérez Hospital questioned the dissemination of images of the collapse of a false ceiling. The incident occurred on October 30 in the Orthopedics ward, and the center described the publications as manipulation and discredit. On that occasion, an independent communicator responded that hospitals need repairs to their roofs, not defenses of their public image. The publication also collects hospital problems acknowledged by Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda before the Central Committee of the Communist Party.