Prosecutor denies increase in murders in Cuba and blames social networks with greater visibility

A senior official from the Attorney General's Office of Cuba denied that there is an increase in murders in the country and tried to divert attention towards social networks and their ability to provide information with a greater scope.

Beatriz de la Peña La O, head of the Investigation Department of the Directorate of Criminal Procedures, expressed in the television programWe make Cuba that criminal violence, which includes the crimes of murder, manslaughter, injuries, robbery with violence and sexual assault, has not increased.

"There are no more murders in Cuba, in numbers," she stated categorically.

According to the prosecutor, there is a perception among citizens that there are more crimes because the networks give greater visibility to the facts, since the number of people who use the Internet has grown.

"Today, around six million Cubans use social networks, and five years ago there were a million or so or two million. And a fact that previously the only way it was known was because it occurred in a community, now with social networks That visibility is much greater. But in numbers, in quantity, in process, there are no greater number of murders," he stressed.

"It does not mean that there is not an increase in the incidence of crime, in other crimes that do increase and that also influence that perception," he said.

Beatriz de la Peña and Colonel Idael Fumero, head of Information and Analysis of the Technical Directorate of Investigations (DTI), insisted that everything reported on the networks "is a campaign" by the opposition against the government.

The officials shared data, graphs and images whose objective was to demonstrate that there is no increase in violence in Cuba, contrary to multiple complaints from the population that indicate the opposite.

Interviewed by the regime's spokesman Humberto López, Fumero assured thatonly 9% of the crimes committed in Cuba are violent. Robberies with force are not classified in this category, despite the fear and feeling of insecurity they generate and the trauma they can cause to victims.

Thefts and robberies with force are 81% of the total crimes reported in Cuba. There is also 10% that groups other types of criminal acts such as those that affect the economy, among which are counterfeiting money and others that move away from the issue of violence.

Specifically within violent crimes in Cuba, only 1% are homicides and 3% are murders. Among the latter, 89% are related to personal problems and 11% are committed for profit.

Robbery with violence represents 25%; serious injuries are 8% and less serious injuries are 28%. Threats represent 30% of reported violent cases.

Sexual assaults constitute 3% of cases of violence in Cuba.