The escalating violence in Cuba shows no signs of stopping. Residents of the town of Chile, located in the San Luis municipality of Santiago de Cuba, are being terrorized by a local named Yaniel Betancourt. Despite his youth, Betancourt has a history of wounding several people with bladed weapons, and authorities have been slow to act. His latest victim, a 32-year-old man, suffered a severe machete wound that severed the tendons in his hand.
The incident occurred on December 24, 2024, during a community event that erupted into chaos. Raúl Montero Bertrán, the most recent victim of the Santiago de Cuba assailant, was present but not involved in the altercation. Like many others, he fled the scene but returned to retrieve a bottle that wasn’t his. Upon his return, the attacker, intoxicated at the time, struck him with a machete, severing the tendons in four of his five fingers.
Following this horrific event, police were notably absent, and the aggressor remained at home as if nothing had happened, until he was finally apprehended. Meanwhile, Raúl Montero Bertrán has been hospitalized in Santiago de Cuba, undergoing two surgeries with a third one pending.
Despite numerous witnesses to the incident, no one from the town has spoken out on social media, and the state-controlled media has remained silent. News of this tragic event only came to light because a relative of the victim, living in Havana, bravely decided to speak out. "I'm outraged with this country's police," the relative expressed in an email to an independent news outlet. "This same individual has injured several others nearby, and nothing is done," the relative added.
An increasing number of Cuban families are voicing their concerns about the rampant impunity enjoyed by murderers, criminals, and drug dealers across the island. In stark contrast, innocent individuals like Mayelín Rodríguez Prado face harsh sentences, such as 15 years in prison for recording protests in Nuevitas, Camagüey.
Injustices abound, such as the case of a resident from Aguacate in Palma Soriano, who was fined and jailed for reporting three violent murders within a year in his town. He was released only after media pressure mounted.
State media rarely covers crimes, and only when they become impossible to conceal, as was the case with the multiple murder in Ceballos, where two mothers and their children were killed in August 2024. Yet, nothing is reported on gender-based violence or the murders that occurred last New Year's Eve, where at least two young men lost their lives in Cuba. One was killed in Santiago de Cuba over a phone dispute, and the other in Colón, Matanzas, in a vendetta that claimed the life of a father in front of his wife and three-year-old daughter.
Understanding the Rise in Violence in Cuba
What led to the machete attack in Santiago de Cuba?
The attack occurred during a community event in the town of Chile, where Yaniel Betancourt, allegedly intoxicated, assaulted Raúl Montero Bertrán with a machete, causing severe injuries.
How is the Cuban government responding to rising violence?
There has been criticism over the lack of response from law enforcement, with many accusing the government of allowing criminals to act with impunity while punishing innocent citizens harshly.
Why is there limited media coverage on violent crimes in Cuba?
State-controlled media often downplays or ignores violent incidents unless they become too significant to hide, leading to a lack of public awareness and accountability.