On Tuesday morning, the body of a man was discovered near the Alejandro Urgellés Multi-Sports Complex in Santiago de Cuba, according to a social media post by journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada. The victim, identified as 38-year-old Yorlandi Rodríguez Valenciano, a father of two young girls, appeared to have died from multiple stab wounds.
Rodríguez Valenciano was employed at the Micro 9 police unit in the José Martí District. The suspected motive behind the crime was the theft of his motorcycle, although Mayeta Labrada mentioned that this information had not been confirmed.
The body was found in a grassy area adjacent to the sports complex. The journalist noted that the stretch of road where the Multi-Sports Complex is located, near the University of Oriente, is completely dark at night, making it a heavily trafficked but poorly lit and dangerous area.
Photos shared online showed a significant police presence at the scene, along with forensic personnel. As of the closing of this report, no further details about the incident were available.
Government's Stance on Crime in Cuba
In recent days, Maricela Sosa Ravelo, the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Cuba, told the BBC that the issue of insecurity on the island is often exaggerated on social media. She attributed this to what she described as defamatory campaigns promoted from the United States, a common narrative used by the Cuban government.
Sosa Ravelo's statements, which the BBC described as "rare" due to the usual secrecy of the Cuban regime, were part of a report that also included the perspectives of two other citizens on safety in Cuba. This highlighted a significant contrast between public perception and the authorities' view.
Maricela Sosa Ravelo argued that "in Cuba, the police have a high success rate in solving crimes," and added that citizens do not take justice into their own hands, which she believes "indicates that the population trusts the Cuban justice system."
However, there has been a notable increase in reports of thefts, assaults, murders, and other criminal activities in recent years, coinciding with the worsening economic crisis, inflation, and declining purchasing power of the population.