US Edition
Young Cubans turn to church and state as cheap, synthetic drugs flood the streets
Use of the synthetic drug químico, costing 50 cents per dose, has nearly doubled emergency room visits among young adults in Cuba from 2024 to 2025, officials said.
- On Feb. 25, 2026, patients aged 20 to 30 entered 90-day detox at Havana Psychiatric Hospital’s 40-bed men's ward for use of 'químico' .
- A deepening economic crisis and shortages have transformed Cuba's drug landscape, officials said precursor substances mainly come from the United States, fueling illicit smuggling routes and seized packages.
- Emergency-Room data show help-seeking in Havana emergency rooms rose from 467 in 2024 to 886 by 2025, while patients aged 20–30 undergo a 90-day detox in a 40-bed men's ward.
- Cuba's Ministry of Health established the National Drug Observatory in July, enforcing a zero-tolerance policy with trafficking punishable by life imprisonment and thwarting 72 smuggling attempts between 2024 and 2025.
- Families say the Alcance Victoria Cuba evangelical Baptist church provided therapy to 50 young people last year, but some users refuse treatment, straining families as public spaces in Havana overflow.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Santa Maria Times
Independent EspañolHAVANA (AP) — “I swear on the lives of my loved ones that I will reject for 24 hours the consumption of the drugs that enslave me,” chanted several dozen young people holding hands days ago in unison…
The Toronto Star
Young Cubans turn to church and state as cheap, synthetic drugs flood the streets
HAVANA (AP) — Several dozen people stood in circle in a room at a Havana psychiatric hospital, their hands held together as they chanted in unison, vowing to rid their
Young Cubans turn to church and state as cheap, synthetic drugs flood
HAVANA (AP) — Several dozen people stood in circle in a room at a Havana psychiatric hospital, their hands held together as they chanted in unison, vowing to rid their bodies from “the toxins that enslave.” The collective plea to reclaim their freedom for just the next 24 hours was the first step of a 90-day detoxification before beginning rehabilitation. Drug use was an almost-unknown phenomenon in Cuba until the beginning of this decade. Howev…
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