Between seven and nine very young Cubans would have died as a result of a new episode of violence happened this Saturday in Havana, which would have also left several injured. According to reports on social networks, all or some of the deceased were minors.
The scene of the event was the Finca de los Monos, located on the Santa Catalina road, in the Havana municipality of El Cerro. In the place, it was carried out an activity for Early summerpromoted by the ruling Union of Young Communists (UJC), Internet users say.
A video posted by user Irma Broek on the Facebook page “Denouncing crimes in Cuba” shows crowds of young people, most of whom were under 20 years old, running or walking in a defiant attitude. Several carried sticks or machetes. In the images you can see several confrontations, one of them between two girls.
Broek assured that the deaths were nine and described as false reports from other groups, which speak of more than 100 deaths. The fatalities were very young and there were two minors, according to this user, who stated that the tragedy could have been avoided if there had been a police presence.
Several users criticize that the Police do not appear most of the time. Almost at the end of the video shared by Broek, a patrol car and an agent are seen putting a presumably injured person in the back seat, before telling the driver to go to the University Pediatric Hospital of Central Havana. “Go easy,” the agent is heard saying.
The same video shows a fight that apparently took place later. One boy received a blow that left him unconscious and another is heard mocking and regretting not having recorded it.
According to the version of events published on Facebook by the “Cuban Reality” page, the young people who clashed belonged to gangs and seven were killed. They were all minors, as they were between 14 and 17 years old, according to this page, which includes photos of four alleged fatalities.
In March, Officials from the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic assured that there are no more murders in Cuba and they blamed social networks for the increase in the perception of insecurity among citizens. A month earlier, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz acknowledged that authorities are failing to contain or reduce crimes in the country.
