Cuba Archive - Case 2419

Case ID: 2419

Title: N/A

First name: Roberto Lorenzo

Last name: Ruíz

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 40

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:26 / Month:9 / Year:2009

Citizenship: N/A

Last known address: Barriada Romerillo, Municipio Playa

Last known city: Havana

Last known province-TOD: Ciudad de La Habana

Last known province current: Ciudad de La Habana

Last known country: Cuba

Location death-address: Guanajay Prison

Location of death - city: N/A

Location of death province - at TOD: N/A

Location of death province - current: N/A

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: N/A

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: Twenty-three years for murder

Arrest or detention at time of death: Yes

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: Guanajay Prison, La Habana

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: Prison authorities

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Ruíz had suffered chest pains for three days, but the authorities ignored his cries for medical attention. Fellow prisoners began to yell for help and a prison guard named Argeny ordered that he be taken to the prison doctor. Despite his pleas that he was dying, he made him put on a shirt and had him handcuffed, then walk two hundred meters to the clinic. When he arrived, the doctor, Elaine, refused to give him emergency medical care because she was leaving for lunch with the two nurses that worked there. When prison authorities realized he had died, they put his body in a prison car and took him to the hospital in Guanajay to simulate his death during transport.  He had been in prison for 23 years, serving a sentence for murder.
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Ruíz había sufrido dolores en el pecho durante tres días, pero las autoridades ignoraron sus reclamos de atención médica. Los compañeros prisioneros comenzaron a gritar pidiendo ayuda y un guardia de la prisión llamado Argeny ordenó que lo llevaran al médico de la prisión. A pesar de sus súplicas de que se estaba muriendo, le hizo ponerse una camisa y lo esposó, luego caminó doscientos metros hasta la clínica. Cuando llegó, la doctora, Elaine, se negó a darle atención médica de emergencia porque se iba a almorzar con las dos enfermeras que trabajaban allí. Cuando las autoridades de la prisión se dieron cuenta de que había muerto, colocaron su cuerpo en un automóvil de la prisión y lo llevaron al hospital de Guanajay para simular su muerte durante el transporte. Había estado en prisión durante 23 años, cumpliendo una sentencia por asesinato.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Confirmed with primary source(s)

Cause of Death: - Medical condition/Denial of medical care

Occupations: N/A

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Prisoner / Detainee: Non-political cause

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Roberto Lorenzo Ruíz