Young Cuban Isauri Aguilar Leyva Killed in Holguín Dispute He Didn't Start

Isauri Aguilar Leyva was the only child of his family, tragically killed at the age of 20 during a fight in Holguín that he did not initiate. "He went to defend a friend. He wasn't armed or anything. He was a peaceful and very noble boy," recalls someone close to the deceased.

Two months after the incident, there is still no date set for the trial. The murderer has been identified and is in prison, but justice has yet to be served. Aguilar Leyva lived in the Harlem neighborhood of Holguín, better known as El Guarro, and rarely left his home. Those who knew him describe him as a calm person who spent his days playing with his cell phone.

The Incident

On June 5, Isauri Aguilar Leyva's mother went to work as usual at a restaurant in Holguín, where she is a waitress. At nine at night, she received a call urging her to go to the hospital because her son had been involved in an incident. When she arrived, she found him dead. She had no idea what had happened.

The next day, the family learned that around 5:44 PM on June 5, Isauri's grandmother heard him talking on the phone. She asked what was happening, but he replied that it was private. Shortly after, at 6:00 PM, the power went out as usual. His grandmother, who never bathed early, did so that day before the blackout.

Whenever the power went out, Isauri Aguilar Leyva would sit with a friend in a park across from his house. He often met a neighborhood boy there, although they weren't friends. It was this boy who called him during the conversation with his grandmother, asking him to defend him from another young man, "del Viña." Aguilar Leyva, more cautious, suggested letting it go. His "friend" found another person and a weapon. That's when the fight broke out in the small park.

Seeing Aguilar Leyva, they told him he was a coward if he didn't join the fight. Under pressure, he got involved. A neighbor witnessed this and tried to stop him, saying, "Come here, don't get into problems that aren't yours." Aguilar Leyva replied he wouldn't get involved, but he did. Along with the others, they went to the assailant's neighborhood, where several boys with sticks, rods, and knives confronted them.

Isauri Aguilar and another young man started running when they saw the crowd. A police patrol intervened to disperse the fight, although sources close to the political police said they were in the neighborhood for another reason. Seeing the officers, the young man who was killed and his companion ran and ended up trapped in a dead-end alley. Frightened, they entered a house. The owner, seeing strangers, forced them out but realized they were being pursued and tried to talk to the murderer, who was 19 years old and accompanied by two others.

Isauri Aguilar Leyva begged his killer to let him go. "Twice he lifted his shirt to show he wasn't armed. The murderer pretended to leave, and Isauri, still in the house's porch, peeked to see if he was gone. At that moment, the murderer stabbed him in the chest, pressured by another who reproached him for leaving without stabbing Isauri."

Isauri Aguilar Leyva arrived at the hospital already dead. His mother and grandmother are devastated. The investigation continues, but there is no trial date. The noble and tranquil young man who spent his days playing with his cell phone is gone. The murderer, 19-year-old José Ramón Ramírez Martínez, is in jail. Known for his "terrible behavior," it is expected that he will face the full extent of the law. However, this trial hasn't been conducted with the speed seen in political trials in Cuba.

Nothing will bring Isauri Aguilar Leyva back to his family, but those close to him believe that the violence in Cuba "must stop." Exemplary trials could help prevent incidents like the recent stabbing death of Usielito Quesada Florat in Camagüey or the suspicious death of a 20-year-old in Baracoa while on guard duty in a Guantánamo prison.

Last Friday, in Sancti Spiritus, a young man named Hansel was killed, though details of the crime have yet to emerge. This occurs amid an escalation of violence in Cuba. In July alone, the Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded 18 violent deaths in the country.

Increasing Violence in Cuba

The think tank Cuba Siglo XXI has identified 2023 as the year the regime acknowledged criminality as a problem on the island, with July and June being the most violent months. "Of the 649 reported crimes, 265 were robberies, 199 people were murdered in 197 incidents, and 124 people were assaulted," states the report accessed by CiberCuba.

According to the Cuban Citizens' Audit Observatory (OCAC), from January to June 2024, a total of 432 crimes were recorded, averaging 2.37 crimes per day, marking a 152% increase compared to the same period in 2023 (1.82 crimes daily in 2023). The analysis shows a "concerning rise" in violent crimes in the year's first half, highlighting a 111% increase in murders, a 290% increase in assaults, and a 208% increase in robberies in the first half of 2024.

OCAC attributes this rise in criminality to the underfunding and unprofessionalism of the police, changes in social and cultural values, and "a growing perception of impunity and corruption within the Cuban judicial system." In light of this situation, it urgently calls on Cuban authorities to transparently address this alarming situation.