Cuban Criticizes Private Pharmacies for Exploiting the Illnesses of the People

A 62-year-old Cuban man, who has survived two heart attacks, took to Facebook to accuse private pharmacies on the island of exploiting people's illnesses by charging prices that are unaffordable for both workers and retirees.

Carlos Martell Díaz, a resident of Pilar Street in Colón, Matanzas, shared a video showing a blister pack of 10 clopidogrel pills—an essential blood thinner for cardiac patients—which he purchased for 500 Cuban pesos, enough for only ten days of treatment.

"Look, I just came... I just bought 10 little pills, 500 pesos. This is an abuse," the visibly upset man states, holding the medication in front of the camera.

The video garnered over 114,000 views and approximately 900 comments, underscoring the significant impact of his complaint among Cubans.

Martell Díaz's most recent heart attack was just five months ago, and he relies on clopidogrel to stay alive.

However, the price demanded by the private pharmacy puts him in a dire predicament: pay up or risk death. "I have to buy, I look, I steal, whatever it takes to get the pills," he confesses in the video.

When he confronted the pharmacy employee, the explanation given was that the price increase was justified because "food is also expensive." The complainant rejects this reasoning: "The dollar goes up, that's a lie, because I buy the pills, the traveler buys the pills at a price, and here what they sell you is disrespectful."

The 500 pesos he spent on ten tablets represent about 16% of the minimum monthly salary in Cuba, set at 3,210 pesos since July 2026—equivalent to a little over four dollars at the informal exchange rate.

The minimum retirement pension is even lower: 3,056 pesos per month. For a chronic patient, affording this treatment month after month is mathematically impossible.

Accusations of Illegal Operations

Martell Díaz goes further in his accusation, pointing out that several of these pharmacies don't even operate legally: "Here, not all have licenses, they are clandestine."

This scenario is not isolated. The regime authorized the opening of private pharmacies managed by small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives through Decree 160/2026, with free pricing and oversight by the Ministry of Public Health, effective since August 4.

By early September, 36 projects were being evaluated, and 14 had received approval. However, the prices documented in these establishments are prohibitive: pediatric cephalexin at 2,000 pesos, nystatin at 1,200 pesos, vitamins between 2,000 and 3,000 pesos.

Pharmaceutical Crisis Deepens

The backdrop is a structural pharmaceutical crisis. BioCubaFarma acknowledged in June 2026 that it couldn't guarantee nearly 300 of the 395 medications promised for the healthcare system, with a funding gap exceeding 250 million dollars.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself admitted on Wednesday to the medication deficit and acknowledged the existence of an illegal market where imported products are resold at exorbitant prices, though he attributed the crisis to the U.S. embargo.

Clopidogrel is among the medications difficult to obtain in the Cuban state network, forcing patients like Martell Díaz to turn to the private or informal market, regardless of the cost.

"For a sick person, for life. And for death. Because if you don't take it, you die. And the government doesn't have it. But the private sector does," the Cuban sums up with a clarity unmatched by any official statement.

"Enough of the abuse, folks, how long are we going to keep putting up with this?" he concludes in the video.