Safety Alert for Visitors to Cuba, It Isn’t Like Before

Gangs armed with knives and pipes wait for cars, and when they slow down, they pounce on them. The areas with the most frequent robberies are near the airports.

By Natalia Lopez Moya (14ymedio)

HAVANA TIMES – The park where people line up to enter the US Consulate in Havana could inspire several movies about Cuban reality. There, you hear confessions, see tears, and it can even serve as a barometer of the insecurity on the streets of the island. The place fills up in the morning with visa applicants and, increasingly, with those who have been victims of robberies and assaults in which their residence documents or US passports were stolen.

“It happened right after leaving Havana Airport. My family had picked me up in a car, it was nighttime, and they ambushed us at the exit,” Celeste, 76, told 14ymedio last Thursday. “It was on a stretch of road as dark as a lion’s den, and because there were potholes, the driver had to slow down. That’s when they jumped at us with pipes and sticks, six men with covered faces.”

Along with the suitcases filled with gifts for her family, Celeste lost her most valuable possession in the assault: the passport that proved her US citizenship. “That was what hurt the most because everything else can be bought again, but now I have to go through the process of reapplying for my documents. They also took my bank cards, which I had to cancel immediately.”

Celeste missed her return flight and had to begin the process of applying for a new passport. That Thursday afternoon, when she went to the Consulate, the line of people in her situation was more than a dozen. “I was robbed on the road near Jatibonico. I was with my sisters, and we stopped to eat at a paladar (private restaurant). As soon as we got out of the car, two men came out of the bushes and, at knifepoint, took everything, even our earrings. I lost my green card [permanent residency card in the US] and my desire to ever come back to this country. I’m not returning.”

“The number of Cubans and US citizens coming to apply for new documents because theirs were stolen has grown significantly in recent months. Most cases are due to theft or robbery. The most common stories are about things being taken on the roads, when they were leaving or arriving at the airport, or while traveling between provinces,” a Cuban employee of the Consulate, who prefers to remain anonymous, told this newspaper.

“It’s not just the fear at the moment and then having to go through all the procedures to recover the documents. These are IDs that have personal information, and anyone can use them to steal the victim’s identity. It’s a very delicate issue, and we always recommend keeping the passport well protected and avoiding risky situations with it on you,” the employee added.

Cuban roads, already unsafe due to the deteriorating infrastructure, poor signage, and loose animals, have now become even more dangerous due to frequent assaults and robberies. The criminals prefer vehicles linked to tourism, such as rental cars or expensive taxis, but they also target cars with local passengers and motorcyclists. The areas with the most frequent robberies are near airports, the outskirts of cities, and around gas stations or food outlets on the highways.

On social media, drivers try to warn each other about the most dangerous stretches. On social media, drivers try to warn each other about the most dangerous stretches and lament that the police don’t better control the junctions and areas where these assaults have been reported. Dainier González, in a Facebook group dedicated to reporting traffic accidents, has warned about the risks of driving near the first-ring bridge toward Ocho Vías in San Miguel del Padron, Havana.

“There’s a pothole, and when you slow down, they open your trunk. It happened to a friend yesterday. They got out of the car to check, and a bunch of guys with machetes came out, injuring the passenger’s hand. The next day, they returned, and there’s even a nearby path where it seems they take the stolen items,” Gonzalez detailed in a post that quickly accumulated similar anecdotes in the comments.

“Last night, I was robbed at the crossing near the train line to Quesada, close to Ciego de Avila. They opened my trunk, and the police patrol saw us chasing the thieves and didn’t help us pursue them,” lamented online user Richard Berto Noa. Others shared stories that followed a similar pattern: the assaults almost always happen at night and on parts of the road where vehicles must slow down.

“My husband and I were coming to Havana from Camagüey on a Yutong bus, one of those that make the route daily,” Natacha, 45, told this newspaper. “At one point, the driver had to stop because a train was coming, and three men came out of the bushes, forced open the luggage compartment, and stole two large bags and a suitcase. We saw everything from the window, and it was clear they were experienced; that they had done it several times before.”

Near terminal 3 of Havana’s airport, “there are gangs waiting for cars loaded with luggage, and when they slow down, they pounce on them. They’re called ninjas because they’re so fast, sometimes using skates to grab onto the back of the car before it has to stop at a crossing. Then they force open the trunk and take what they can. Sometimes they have others who stop the car by threatening to smash the windshield with a pipe,” Rolando, a resident near Boyeros Avenue, one of the routes from the airport, told this newspaper.

“The other day, my son and I were on the porch, and we saw everything like a movie. There were four men, and when the taxi with the tourists turned onto Boyeros Ave. and almost had to stop because other cars were coming down the road, they jumped on it. The driver got out with a machete, but he couldn’t do anything because there were too many of them, and they had pipes and a knife,” he explained.

The passengers were stripped of everything in seconds. “There was a woman who looked European and was trembling from head to toe. They left her with only the clothes she was wearing,” he added. “The police arrived about half an hour later, and before they came, the taxi driver threw the machete far into the grass because if they catch him with a weapon, he’ll get fined, and the thieves will get away.”

Among the stolen belongings of the tourists, it’s very likely their passports and bank cards were taken. The next day, in line at a consulate in El Vedado or Miramar (where there are other consulates), two angry foreigners, without identification, would begin the same process as many others that week to recover their papers and leave the island as soon as possible.

First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.

Read more from Cuba here on Havana Times.