"They look like ninjas": Warnings of assaults on visitors to the Colón Cemetery in Havana

A worker from the Colón Cemetery reported an increase in assaults on visitors to the important graveyard to rob them, especially targeting tourists.

"Delinquents jump over the walls and hide inside the cemetery to watch tourists and assault them to take their jewelry and other valuables. They threaten them with knives and other sharp weapons," said the worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, in a statement to Cubanet.

The woman pointed out that when foreign visitors arrive at the cemetery, they are advised to be careful and try to stay away from the more secluded areas.

"There's even a police patrol in the vicinity to try to prevent these incidents, but the criminals seem like ninjas when they jump over walls to rob tourists or anyone else who has valuable items on them," said the worker.

In statements to the mentioned media, a guard stationed at the entrance of the cemetery indicated that the cemetery lacks surveillance cameras in many areas, which would be very useful for preventing such crimes.

"They have left the installation of the cameras half done, but they are needed throughout the cemetery. It is already known that graves have been desecrated for religious purposes or to steal from the corpses, but crimes against people have increased, and we cannot do much because this cemetery is almost like a city," he explained.

Founded in 1871 and declared a National Monument in 1987, the Colón Cemetery is an architectural and historical jewel of Cuba.

The cemetery spans 57 hectares and houses more than 800,000 graves, mausoleums, and monuments, many of which are of great artistic value.

Designed by the Spanish architect Calixto de Loira, the necropolis is recognized for its impressive neoclassical entrance and a rich collection of sculptures that reflect a mix of artistic styles, from neoclassical to modernist.

In recent years, the largest and most important cemetery in Cuba, and one of the most notable in Latin America, has had to face the decay that permeates all aspects of Cuban life: deterioration of the graves, desecration of tombs, family members attending infamous exhumations, and a long list of lamentable situations.

In February of this year, a Cuban documented the existence of a trench filled with human bones exposed in the Colón Cemetery.