Cubans capture a horse thief and the police release him within a few hours.

Residents in Santiago de Cuba captured a horse thief on their own, only for the Police to release him a few hours later.

The incident occurred this Friday morning on a farm in the El Caney neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city, where animal thefts have been happening for several consecutive weeks.

According to a resident who spoke to independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, the locals kept watch over the thieves and managed to catch the individual when he was trying to steal a mule. He was with other bandits, but they were able to escape.

However, much to everyone's outrage, the wrongdoer was released shortly after.

"He was detained for not even four hours and they already released him. What do we do? Do we kill the other one when he falls? We're not going to call the police anymore," alerted a neighbor in a powerful message sent to the reporter.

According to reports received by Mayeta Labrada, more than seven horses and other animals have been stolen in recent weeks.

"The authorities of the Party, the Government, and the Ministry of the Interior detain them [the thieves] for a few hours after the town hands them over to avoid lynching them, but the MININT releases them with a minimal bail or a warning letter," he questioned on his Facebook wall.