A massive fight between groups of young people took place this Saturday in Havana, leaving chilling images of gangs armed with machetes and people injured by bladed weapons, according to reports on social media.
The events took place in the vicinity of the area known as "Finca de los Monos" ("Quinta de las Delicias"), in the Cerro municipality of the Cuban capital, during a festive event apparently organized by the Young Communist League ("UJC") to kick off its summer campaign.
Young people from different gangs are gathered at the Finca de los Monos, where the beginning of summer was being celebrated by the UJC," reported the user identified as Edmundo Dantés Junior on Facebook.
At the time of writing this note, neither the authorities nor the official media have commented on events that show practically unprecedented images of hundreds of young Cubans caught up in a frenzy of violence and the presence of gangs wielding machetes and knives.
According to reports, the events were due to a 'settling of scores.' I cannot share the most graphic videos. It didn't end well, at least 5 did not survive, although they say it may be up to 12, it's not confirmed and there are circulating fake photos. Many others are in critical condition. Children aged 13 to 15," noted the internet user in their report.
According to their information, in the mass brawl, young people who have died would have been reported. Rumors speak of between a dozen and half a dozen young people with fatal injuries, plus an undetermined number of wounded. This information has not been able to be confirmed by this editorial team.
However, the video recordings shared on social media reveal an unusual outburst of violence, with the presence of hundreds of young people, many of them teenagers and minors.
One of the videos captured the moment when police officers lifted a badly injured young man into a patrol car to transport him to the hospital. "To the Pediatric Hospital in Centro Habana," a police officer can be heard instructing the driver of the police vehicle.
The uprising seems to have spread over time and space, as other videos showed scenes of fights at dusk and in other streets of the city.
It is unknown what triggered such an outbreak of violence, although there is talk of rivalries between gangs. The truth is that the surroundings of the Monkey Farm, a space equipped with technological attractions for children according to their social media, were filled with groups of young people and teenagers carrying machetes and knives.
At the beginning of April, the UJC chose a unique slogan for its campaign for the XII Congress, in a context of scarcity and increasing poverty in Cuba: "Create your happiness."
The philosophical slogan aims to invite young Cubans to invent an ideal world in a country that is crumbling, so that they can find happiness for themselves.
The harrowing images of the massive brawl this Saturday reveal that Cuban youth are experiencing experiences more akin to hell than to happiness.
What do you think?
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