14ymedio’s Faces of 2019: Yaima Caballero, Mother of Paloma Dominguez

On October 16, 2019, Caballero and her husband were summoned by phone to appear that same day at the Ministry of Public Health in Havana. (Courtesy)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, December 27, 2019 — Yaima Caballero’s life took an unexpected turn in a little more than two months. At the beginning of October she took her one-year-old daughter, Paloma, to a medical center in Havana for the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella. A few days later, the little girl died from complications that, for now, are attributed to an incorrect dosage.

Since then, the young woman has undertaken a personal battle to have what happened thoroughly investigated so it won’t happen again. Although Caballero never complained about the medical attention her daughter received — on the contrary, she thanked the doctors — reprisals weren’t long in coming for having raised her voice.

State Security was present at a meeting with the health authorities, and they warned her that she could go to prison if she persisted in making “false accusations.” The situation sent her and her husband into exile in México, where they had planned a trip.

See also:  14ymedio’s 14 Faces of 2019

Translated by Regina Anavy

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