Security Guard in Critical Condition After Being Stabbed During Robbery at Havana Market

A security guard at an agricultural market in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana, is hospitalized in critical condition after being stabbed during a robbery at the venue on Saturday night. Social media reports have highlighted the assault that took place at the "El Caballo Blanco" market, located on Calzada de Güines in the Havana municipality.

According to reports, the guard was on duty when several individuals approached the market intending to steal. He attempted to scare them off by throwing stones, but the perpetrators returned and stabbed him multiple times, leaving him gravely injured. Following the attack, the thieves stole sacks of rice and meat from the refrigerators, as detailed in a report by the La Tijera page.

The guard, whose identity has not been disclosed, sustained approximately four to six stab wounds, one of which punctured a lung causing a pneumothorax. As a result, he underwent surgery and is currently receiving treatment at La Benéfica Hospital (Miguel Enríquez), according to several sources.

Initial reports on social media erroneously claimed the victim had died, but it was later confirmed that he survived the attack. Unofficial accounts suggest that the assailants were apprehended after being identified through security cameras. A neighbor from the area stated that the culprits are young individuals from the San Matías neighborhood, located just across Calzada de Güines from the market.

Rising Violence Against Security Personnel in Cuba

In recent weeks, the city of Santiago de Cuba has been on high alert due to a series of violent incidents targeting security personnel. Two guards were killed in separate attacks at their workplaces—a state-owned agricultural market and a bar restaurant—while a third was assaulted at the restaurant where he works, though he survived the attack.

The motive behind these crimes has been identified as robbery. Last week, police arrested the suspected murderer, Alex Recasen Suárez, who is linked to other violent robberies in the city’s central area. Shortly after, another incident was reported involving the assault of a female security guard by two criminals while she was on duty at the North Children's Hospital, known as "La Ondi," in the same city.

In October, the family of Luis Enrique Ramírez Samá, who nearly lost his life due to severe injuries inflicted during a robbery at the market where he works as a guard in La Güinera, Havana, expressed outrage after authorities released the perpetrator of the crime.

Escalating Crime Amid Economic Turmoil

The recent attack on another security guard in Havana adds to the growing wave of crime and violence that has surged in Cuba over recent years, amid a backdrop of economic and social crisis. The rising crime rates have left the population on edge, even as authorities continue to assert that crime levels have decreased.