Two men arrested for violent assault against an elderly man in Santa Clara

A 70-year-old Cuban man was the victim of a violent assault by two men in the city of Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, according to the pro-government Facebook profile Fuerza del Pueblo.

The alleged thieves of this incident, which occurred on Alejandro Oms and Colón streets, near the old hospital of that city, were identified by the names of Deivy and Yoel.

The information provided by the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) to the administrator of the said profile, linked to the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), details that, during a nighttime patrol, as part of the Popular Revolutionary Surveillance Exercise, a citizen identified as Osmany and other neighbors heard the cries for help from a person.

Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered that two criminals had beaten the elderly man and had snatched 1,000 Cuban pesos from him. The swift response from Osmany and the other neighbors allowed for the capture of those responsible and the recovery of the money taken from the elderly man.

The police officers arrived at the location and managed to apprehend the suspects. This act of violence reflects the growing wave of crime that has hit Cuba in recent months. The island is facing a deep economic, political, and social crisis, which has contributed to the increase in this scenario of insecurity.

💥CRIMINALS CAUGHT WHO BEAT AN ELDERLY MAN TO STEAL HIS MONEY IN SANTA CLARA💥 🇨🇺VILLA CLARA🇨🇺 A few days ago… Posted by Fuerza del Pueblo on Thursday, December 28, 2023

It is important to highlight that, although this incident was recognized by an official profile, these types of events rarely receive extensive coverage in state-run media, as authorities try to show the country as a safe place to attract tourism that has been lost in recent years.

This cruel assault in Santa Clara also sheds light on a latent concern in Cuban society: the vulnerability of the elderly to the increasing insecurity in the Greater Antilles.

Such incidents have caused deep concern, especially when seniors disappear or are absent for long periods of time, as they are often the target of violent attacks and thefts due to their frailty and, in many cases, a lack of resources to defend or adequately protect themselves.

An example of this occurred last October when Carlos Maestre López, a 67-year-old man, was murdered in the province of Artemisa. This man ended up being the victim of a deception and was fatally attacked by a woman and another individual, with whom he was supposedly going to make an illegal exchange of 1,600 dollars for Cuban pesos.