A nurse from Cienfuegos with nearly two decades of service in Cuba's healthcare system took to Facebook this week to voice her outrage following the death of her colleague, Maribel Pupo. Pupo, a licensed nurse from Cumanayagua, died on November 2 after being assaulted while performing her duties.
Yenisey Álvarez Enamorado, also from Cienfuegos, posted an impassioned message: "From Cienfuegos, Nuclear City, I write this with seething anger and a shattered soul. I will not soften my words. What happened to Nursing Graduate Maribel Pupo is a crime that affects all of us who don the uniform daily to care for a community that often returns our dedication with disdain."
Maribel Pupo worked in the Vaccination Department at the Aracelio Rodríguez Teaching Hospital in Cumanayagua. On October 29, she was attacked while advising a family to complete a child's vaccination schedule.
The assault left her with severe head injuries, including three cerebral clots. Initially treated at the Cumanayagua clinic, she was later transferred to Cienfuegos for surgery. Tragically, she succumbed to her injuries four days later.
Pupo's death leaves her daughters motherless and her husband a widower. Her colleagues in Cumanayagua honored her with a vigil at the local funeral home.
The Cumanayagua General Health Directorate confirmed her death on social media, offering condolences but omitting details about the assault or any ongoing criminal investigation.
This lack of institutional response is the crux of Yenisey Álvarez's grievance, where she insists that healthcare workers should not bear the blame for the system's deficiencies: "We are NOT responsible for the lack of supplies. We are NOT responsible for the system's shortcomings. We are NOT the enemy. We are the caregivers, the door-knockers, the ones who show up when others do not."
Álvarez highlights a disturbing trend: "Violence against healthcare workers is not an isolated incident; it is a warning signal we have been raising for years, and it has now claimed a life."
Maribel Pupo's case is part of a documented pattern of attacks on Cuban healthcare workers. In December 2025, nurse Rosa Idania Ferrer Pérez was murdered in Palmira, also in Cienfuegos. In June 2026, intensivist Leudis Alfonso Minguía was physically assaulted during his shift at Cárdenas Hospital in Matanzas. In August, obstetrician Yanelkys Alonso Valdés was killed at her home in Güines, Mayabeque, and her mother died days later from wounds sustained in the same attack.
These incidents underscore a specific tension within Cuba's healthcare system: medical staff are tasked with persuading parents to vaccinate their children, a responsibility carried out without clear legal backing or protective measures for the workers.
One of Pupo's colleagues remembered her on social media as "an exceptional nurse, a great professional, and above all, a wonderful person. She devoted her entire life to her calling, caring for others with dedication and humanity."
Yenisey Álvarez concluded her message with a collective demand reflecting the profession's frustration: "We demand respect. We demand honor. We demand protection. We demand justice. Let this crime not go unpunished, let it not be silenced, let it not be normalized."
Understanding the Challenges Facing Cuban Healthcare Workers
What led to the death of nurse Maribel Pupo?
Maribel Pupo died following an assault on October 29, where she suffered severe head injuries, including cerebral clots, while encouraging a family to complete a child's vaccination.
How has the healthcare community in Cuba responded to the incident?
Healthcare workers, including Yenisey Álvarez, have expressed outrage and demanded justice, highlighting the violence faced by medical staff and calling for systemic change.
Is violence against healthcare workers common in Cuba?
Yes, there is a documented pattern of violence against medical staff in Cuba, with several reported cases of assaults and murders in recent years.