Italian tourist assaulted on Sancti Spíritus road

AndItalian tourist was the victim of aarmed robbery by three Cubans when he was traveling in a rented car through the province of Sancti Spíritus heading to the eastern region of Cuba, on the night of April 18.

Two of those involved in the violent robbery were arrested days later and confessed the authorship of the criminal act, as reported toHoly Spirit Radio the lieutenant colonelRolando Rodríguez Carmenate, head of the Criminal Investigation Body of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in the province.

Around 11 p.m. of the day of the incident,Salvatore Gonario He was intercepted at the Siguaney intersection by three individuals who signaled him with the lights of the car in which they were traveling and one of them got out with a firearm and threatened him to get out of the rented car he was driving.

Gonario did not obey the order and the man, who had his face covered by a balaclava, opened the vehicle door, pushed him out and “hit him a few times,” according to the police report.

“A car came out in front of me and blocked me. Then this man in a balaclava came out with a gun in his hand and shouted, open up. I tell him, no, I won't open it and he says, open it or I'll kill you," the tourist told Holy Spirit Radio.

The Italian said that he fought against his attacker and even slapped him, despite “the punch he received in the chest and that he still feels sore all over,” and assured that, “if it had not been for the firearm, he would have fought.” “one on one with the perpetrator.”

After removing him from the car, the assailant took the key and left the place in the vehicle, along with the other car and its occupants. Besides,He stole 1,300 euros from the tourist and almost all of his belongings that were inside the tour..

In his statement to the police, Gonario explained that he rented the car at a Transtur Havana rental point and was traveling to the east of the country to meet his wife, the Cuban Dania Olivero, whom he married in January of this year and resides in the municipality of Mayarí, in Holguín.

According to the station's note, when he was traveling through Taguasco to join the Central Highway, he arrived at the Cupet service center, located at the exit of that municipality, with the purpose of refueling the vehicle with special gasoline, but he continued his trip and was not He stopped at the Siguaney intersection, after seeing the signs they made to him from the other car.

The head of the MININT said that, as soon as the incident became known, a work team was formed with personnel from various specialties, which was in charge of investigating the events and “did not rest for a second, especially due to the presence of a firearm".

Rodríguez assured that the Italian tourist was quickly provided with the medical, police and consular assistance he needed.

He noted that on April 26, an operation was carried out that concluded with the capture of two of the assailants, who were not identified by name.

When they were heading to Havana in the stolen car, both were detained at the Tres Palmas intersection, on the Yaguajay-Sancti Spíritus highway.

Inside the car were the driver and his father, as well as a woman - also unidentified - who is the driver's partner.

The men were taken to the Sancti Spíritus Criminal Investigation Unit and, according to Rodríguez, both confessed to the crimes they committed.

They acknowledged that "they were moving towards Havana and near the Cupet of Taguasco they observed that a tourist was alone in his car, so one of them proposed the idea of robbing him, but as the foreigner continued on his way, they chased him down the road." that leads from El Majá to Sancti Spíritus, where the criminal act was committed.”

The head of the MININT said that no evidence was found linking the detained woman to the crime committed against the Italian citizen, but added that they found 73,000 pesos in her possession, which she admitted would be used in illicit activities.

The officer did not mention the third individual who participated in the assault.

Part of the belongings stolen from Gonario were recovered and returned to their owner, according to their information.

The investigations into the incident continue and “the complaint was filed with the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Sancti Spíritus for the crime ofrobbery with violence”, specified the note.

The assault on the Italian tourist adds another event to the growing wave of violence and crime in Cuba, which keeps the country's inhabitants in suspense.

Several thefts of rental cars for tourism have been reported in the last year in different Cuban provinces. Last November, the two perpetrators of a violent robbery of a tourist in Santa Clara were arrested; days before, it had beenarrested in Manicaragua, in the province of Villa Clara, another Cuban who had also taken a tourist car and was driving it with a false license plate.

Similar incidents have also been reported in the provinces ofHolguin, Sancti Spirits, Guantanamo Bay, The Tunas and Mayabeque.