Carlos López Valdés, leader of the Evangelical League of Cuba in Puerto Padre, bears the weight of courage etched on his brow. Despite the demolition of his church in 2015, he finds the strength to organize a community health initiative alongside pastors from the Church of Christ, the Quakers (Friends), Pinos Nuevos, Methodist, Assemblies of God, Baptist, and Nazarene denominations, as well as the Catholic Church, in this town in Las Tunas province.

They called upon health specialists to provide professional, voluntary assistance for the event. About 100 responded. Some marveled at the conditions of the “church clinic,” a pastor’s residence transformed into the initiative’s hub. There, Christians and others donated medicines for distribution among the most needy.

Since 2023, provincial authorities have acknowledged the deterioration of the health care system and the shortage of medicines. Of the 86 medications rationed via special ration cards for patients with chronic illnesses, 35 were missing from warehouses (including enalapril, theophylline, and omeprazole).

However, the problem is not merely local. Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2026 stated that in 2025, only 30% of medicines classified as “essential” could be found in the country. Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organization notes that inflation and the emigration of professionals are placing the health care system under strain.

Havana’s go-to justifications are the lack of raw materials for domestic production, difficulties in importing pharmaceuticals, and the U.S. embargo. Yet, the failure to repay loans has cost the regime its international credibility, and Washington does permit the export of medicines and medical supplies to the island.

Amidst this widespread crisis, the church has served as a constant channel of aid for the Cuban people. The U.S. State Department has been channeling over $100 million in aid through Catholic and evangelical groups.

Other groups, such as the one in Puerto Padre, are organizing in parallel and independently. However, without government backing, they face greater obstacles in their initiatives.

A Delegation, a Permit, and a Decision

“We submitted a written request to the local government for permits to do this, so as not to harm the doctors; we didn’t want to drag them into acts of disobedience or anything of the sort,” said López Valdés, referring to the strict prohibitions against health care professionals working outside the state system.

“The local authorities told us that holding the event was subject to an inspection by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP),” López Valdés recounted. “So we went there, and MINSAP inspected the facilities and gave the green light.”

Then, to avoid interfering with the doctors’ presence at their regular jobs, the leaders of the joint interdenominational initiative decided to hold the first event on July 27, a national holiday.

“When we opened, people from the town started coming in. We set up a pharmacy — staffed by pharmacists and stocked with everything we could gather — and began treating a large number of people,” the pastor recalled. “We conducted consultations, and everyone was happy.”

According to the organizers, 200 people benefited. Several praised the project. One young man said, “It’s a huge help for the town, which is in great need.” Another, an older man, described the event as a place where people went “hoping to find help.” An elderly woman called it a great “benefit for sick people like us who need specialists and medicines — things you sometimes can’t get even with money.”

The event in Puerto Padre was already underway when a delegation of officials arrived, including the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and the head of the PCC’s Ideological Department for Las Tunas, as well as local commanders from the army, the Revolutionary National Police, the Ministry of Justice, and MINSAP.

They summoned the pastors and detained them for three hours for a political lecture. They stated that the event lacked authorization, that it had to stop, and that it would take them up to 60 days to grant a permit. Most of the meeting focused on social media: the officials did not want the event publicized or for the church to use social media to rally the public.

On July 11, 2021, the largest protests against the socialist tyranny in decades took place in Cuba, organized and spread via social media. The initial call to action originated in a Facebook group, following an appeal by a pastor in exile.

Even with the event being halted, “people are still looking for medication and want medical consultations. Doctors want to keep treating people, the facilities are open, people have donated medicines — there is plenty available — yet the PCC is stalling us.”

“We told them that a toothache, a migraine — people suffering from these, or asthmatics — cannot wait; that someone suffering from severe nervous distress might even commit suicide,” recounted López Valdés. “There is tension — psychological and emotional pressure of all kinds — in this country, and we have the opportunity to provide a service.”

In other parts of the country — such as Havana, Villa Clara, Matanzas, and Santiago de Cuba — churches are gaining prominence not only as centers for spiritual health but for physical health as well.

Shortly after the delegation’s visit on the 27th, López Valdés posted a diplomatic video regarding the status of the initiative. He made it clear that the ball was in the local government’s court and that they were awaiting a decision. The religious leaders saw the matter being stalled and feared the request would be shelved, to the detriment of the people of Puerto Padre.

To keep the initiative moving, the pastors called a meeting for Friday the 8th with medical personnel and sent written invitations to local officials from the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS), the Communist Party (PCC), and the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP).

“Doctors and pastors attended the meeting, but no one from the government showed up,” López Valdés said. “Doctors voiced their opinions, convinced that what is being done is good, that no laws are being broken, and that it is wrong for the government to halt this campaign in this manner.”

“Some people prefer bureaucracy over healing or alleviating people’s pain,” said the evangelical leader, who has publicly criticized the country’s situation on other occasions. In his view, the only entity preventing sick people from accessing medicine is the PCC. The medicines exist. The facilities exist. The doctors are willing to serve. “If there is a separation of church and state, the government cannot interfere in church affairs.”

After officials in Las Tunas failed to respond to the churches’ call to meet, faith leaders decided to reschedule the initiative for Tuesday, August 11, with “doctors willing to pay the price of possible reprisals.”

Stay tuned for part two.