Resort Death in Cuba — What to Do When Someone Dies at an All-Inclusive
The First Hours Are Chaos — Here's the Sequence
A death at a Cuban all-inclusive resort typically follows a pattern: the resort's medical staff pronounce the death, local police arrive, and from that point forward the family is navigating a Cuban state process with very little information in English.
Knowing what happens next, and in what order, prevents the most common mistakes.
Step 1: Let the Resort Call the Police
If the death is sudden — cardiac arrest, drowning, a fall — the resort's medical staff will call the Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR). This is automatic and non-optional. The police will secure the scene, and the deceased's belongings (clothing, electronics, passport) may be seized as evidence.
Do not move the body, do not remove items from the room, and do not clean up the scene. Doing so can complicate the police report and delay the release of the remains.
Step 2: Call the Canadian Embassy
Contact the Embassy of Canada in Havana at +53 7 204-2516. If it is after business hours, call the Emergency Watch and Response Centre (EWRC) in Ottawa at +1 613 996 8885. The consular officer will register the death and help you understand what the next steps look like from the Canadian government side.
The embassy cannot pay for anything — not medical bills, not repatriation, not hotel extensions. Their role is guidance, document legalization, and passport cancellation.
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Step 3: Call Your Travel Insurance Provider
This call is urgent. Your insurer needs to contact Asistur S.A. — the Cuban state agency that holds a monopoly over all insurance claims, repatriation coordination, and mortuary services for foreigners. If the insurer issues a Guarantee of Payment to Asistur, the state agency will manage and fund the autopsy, embalming, and repatriation steps up to the policy limits.
If the deceased had no travel insurance, you will need to pay Asistur directly. Be prepared to wire funds — credit cards linked to US banks do not work in Cuba.
What the Resort Will and Won't Do
The resort will: help you contact the police, make a phone available, and potentially extend your stay at no charge or reduced cost while you manage the immediate logistics. Some resorts have guest relations staff who speak English and can translate basic interactions with police.
The resort will not: manage the legal process, store the remains, coordinate with Asistur, handle document legalization, or provide legal advice. Once the police have completed their initial report, the process moves away from the resort entirely. The body will be transferred to a local or regional morgue and eventually transported to Havana for the mandatory forensic autopsy.
The Transfer to Havana
Most Canadian tourist deaths in Cuba happen at beach resorts in Varadero, Guardalavaca, Holguín, or the Cayo keys — all of which are far from Havana, where the forensic autopsy, embalming, cremation facilities, and the Canadian Embassy are located.
Asistur arranges the ground transport. The cost is approximately 1.00 CUC per kilometre, and vehicle availability and distance can add time to the transfer. During this time, the body is in mortuary cold storage.
The Hardest Part for the Companion
If you were travelling with the deceased, you face a difficult decision: stay in Cuba to be physically present during the process, or return to Canada and manage things remotely. There is no right answer, but two facts help:
Plan for at least 10 business days in Cuba for autopsy, legalization, and embalming. Staying that entire time is expensive and there is relatively little you can do in person that cannot be coordinated by phone.
If you leave Cuba, designate a single family member as the point of contact for the embassy and Asistur. Multiple people calling with conflicting instructions slows the process.
The Canadian Dies in Cuba — Family Emergency Guide includes the complete first-48-hours emergency protocol, bilingual communication scripts for dealing with resort staff and police, and a remote coordination checklist for family members managing the process from Canada.
Get Your Free Canadian Dies in Cuba — Family Emergency Guide — Emergency Checklist
Download the Canadian Dies in Cuba — Family Emergency Guide — Emergency Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.