A group of people apprehended a thief who broke into a house to steal in broad daylight on Saturday in Santiago de Cuba.
A witness of the incident sent independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada photos and a video of the moment when the perpetrator, a young man, was apprehended by two police officers and taken away in a patrol car.
According to the complainant, the individual was caught stealing from a house located at the corner of Callejón de Soto, between San Fermín and Cuartería Julio Palacio.
"He was with another friend and took off; they were armed: one had a file and the other a machete," he detailed.
The woman reported that the two individuals entered through the back of the house after forcing the lock.
"The neighbors who caught him gave him a beating that even knocked out a tooth; the thieves no longer have a schedule for stealing," he concluded.
The reporter asked for help on his Facebook wall to identify the thief and gather details about the robbery.
More and more cases are being reported in Cuba where citizens are taking it upon themselves to apprehend thieves, while the population voices complaints about the ineffective police response in an environment characterized by a rise in crime and violence.
This week, also in Santiago de Cuba, two alleged thieves were captured by the public in two unrelated incidents.
The first one was caught in front of the Ensueño store, right in the city center. They left him lying face down on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. Apparently, he had tried to steal a bag or a player from a car.
The second thief, very young, was focused on snatching phones and was caught in front of the five-story building on Trocha Street by the local residents.
A few days ago, residents of Havana apprehended a young man who robbed secondary school students on the street, threatening them with a knife to take their mobile phones. The individual, just 18 years old, was tied up hand and foot.
At the end of September, in Santiago de Cuba, a thief was captured while trying to snatch a cell phone from a young woman. The man was dragged down the street by several enraged individuals who were beating him, until they brought him to the nearest police station.
"Many people have praised the lynching, stating that if they do not take justice into their own hands, these criminals will soon do the same thing again," noted independent reporter Yosmany Mayeta on Facebook.
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