An Incident in Havana Worthy of the Gutter Press

Nonardo Perea

HAVANA TIMES — It was Monday – Monday, July 13, to be more exact. It was 9 pm, the time the cannon at Havana’s La Cabaña fortress is fired nightly…but, this time around, a gun was also fired.

The incident I’m about to describe isn’t fictional, it’s real life. These kinds of violent situations are becoming more and more common, but we almost never find out about them, not unless we’re close to the scene of the incident and can get hold of detailed information.

That night, sector chief Ruben arrived at the family doctor’s office located on 142nd St in Havana’s neighborhood of Marianao to speak with the doctor who lives above the office. According to the doctor, the officer was looking for a person in possession of a firearm. The doctor, who at that moment was conversing with a young, pregnant woman, told the officer she hadn’t seen anyone; that only she and her little girl (who was playing on the stairs at the time) were there.

“It all happened very quickly, but I saw it all, or, rather, felt it, because one thing is seeing the shot and a very different thing is to feel the sound the shot makes,” the doctor explained.

“Seeing a dog go down the stairs, the policeman took out his gun from the holster, loaded it and shot my dog, who died instantly.”

Yes, folks, the sector chief, law and order, the person who supposedly prevents acts of violence and vandalism, for no good reason and in the presence of several people, used his weapon to kill the doctor’s pet in cold blood. The animal had been with her for five years and, only because it started barking at him, like it would before any stranger, the sector chief felt entitled to end its life.

“It was a very hard moment, something that left me speechless. I didn’t know what to do, I think that night he was out to shoot anyone,” said the doctor, who didn’t wait long to report the incident. Nothing’s been done yet, though many police officers came to her office the next day to take the statements of several witnesses. The sector chief continues to be in the area, but the doctor declared she’ll do what she has to see justice done, for, that night, the bullet could have killed more than just the dog – it could have ricocheted towards her, her daughter or the pregnant woman (who had to be seen to later, because she had a nervous fit afterwards).

Oh, Ruben, it’s a shame there are no sensationalist TV shows here, because it’d be great if everyone found out about this and everyone around the world could see your face and see you as the murderer you are. I would just love that.