A growing illegal gold mining industry in eastern Cuba is turning into a public health threat, with doctors reporting cases of acute kidney failure, neurological disorders, and suspected mercury poisoning among young adults. The crisis is unfolding in communities where economic desperation has made gold extraction an increasingly attractive source of income.
In the eastern Cuban province of Las Tunas, the search for gold is bringing something far more dangerous to the surface: mercury contamination that health specialists warn is threatening miners, their families and potentially entire communities.
Doctors in the municipality of Jobabo have treated more than 25 patients since 2024 for health complications linked to mercury exposure, including young adults between 25 and 30 years old suffering acute kidney failure.
The warning came from toxicologist Alejandro Mestre Barroso, who described the situation to the state-run newspaper Periódico 26 in a report published over the weekend. "We are receiving young people, aged 25 to 30, with acute kidney failure due to mercury complications," Mestre Barroso said.
The affected areas include Jobabo and La Guásima, where informal mining operations have expanded as Cuba's prolonged economic crisis pushes residents toward unconventional ways of earning a living.
Gold Worth Thousands, at a Potentially Devastating Cost
The financial incentive is considerable. A single gram of refined gold can sell for more than 60,000 Cuban pesos in the local market, an amount far beyond what many workers can earn through conventional employment.
But extracting that gold involves a dangerous chemical process. Artisanal miners use mercury to bind gold particles into an amalgam, which is subsequently heated to separate the precious metal. The heating releases toxic mercury vapor that can be inhaled by workers and others nearby.
Mercury discharged into rivers and lagoons can also undergo chemical changes through microbial activity, producing methylmercury, a particularly dangerous compound that accumulates in fish and other organisms.
The Pan American Health Organization warns that mercury exposure can damage the nervous system, kidneys and other organs, while contamination of water and food supplies can expose people who never participated in mining.
Mestre Barroso said one of the first warning signs emerged when a miner arrived at Jobabo Hospital with symptoms resembling Parkinson's disease. Physicians suspected toxic parkinsonism, a neurological condition that can result from exposure to certain harmful substances.
The specialist also reported unusually high numbers of kidney disease and psychiatric cases in the area. However, the extent to which mercury exposure explains those broader patterns has not been established through publicly available epidemiological studies. "The primary target organ is the central nervous system," he warned, citing the possibility of neurological, cardiovascular, and renal complications.
Authorities have repeatedly attempted to curb illegal gold extraction in Las Tunas. Eight people were arrested in Jobabo in March 2025 on allegations involving illegal gold extraction and trafficking. Another 15 were detained in July of that year, according to CiberCuba.
The operations have continued, however, expanding into areas such as El Cornito and attracting miners from neighboring municipalities. An August 2026 confrontation among clandestine miners reportedly left one person dead.
Cuba joined the international Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2018, committing to measures aimed at protecting human health and the environment from mercury pollution.
Environmental specialists in Cienfuegos are now collecting samples from affected areas to determine contamination levels, according to the original Periódico 26 investigation. Results have not yet been publicly reported.
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