Two suspected thieves were captured by the residents of Santiago de Cuba in two unrelated incidents.
Independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta shared videos on his Facebook wall of individuals who had been apprehended by the public, who kept them restrained while waiting for the police to arrive.
The first was caught in the entrance of the Ensueño store, in the heart of the city. The footage shows the man lying face down on the ground with his hands bound behind his back. It appears he attempted to steal a bag or a device from a car.
The second thief, very young, was known for snatching phones and was caught by neighborhood residents in front of the five-story building on Trocha Street.
Mayeta asked her followers for help in identifying him.
In recent months, there have been several reported cases in Cuba where citizens have taken it upon themselves to apprehend criminals, amid a context characterized by a rise in crime and ineffective police action.
Last week, residents of Havana apprehended a young man who was accused of robbing high school students on the street. The individual, only 18 years old, was mugging teenagers at knifepoint to steal their mobile phones.
The Facebook user Martin Serrano shared photos of the young man on his profile, whom the crowd bound by his hands and feet.
According to Serrano, the "young delinquent with criminal instincts" attempted to assault his daughter and three of her school friends in broad daylight.
"In the company of another young man who fled the scene, they managed to steal two mobile phones from my daughter and another friend at knifepoint," he explained.
At the beginning of the month, a man was apprehended one night at Primary School 8, located in the Nuevo Vista Alegre neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba, while attempting to steal a turbine from the facility.
According to journalist Mayeta Labrada, the guards at the site heard noises around 8:00 PM, and upon investigating, they found him with the turbine partially dismantled and stored in a backpack.
The security staff of the facility restrained the suspected thief by binding his feet to prevent his escape, and then notified the police.
At the end of September, residents of Santiago de Cuba caught a thief as he attempted to snatch a phone from a girl in the city's main square.
The wrongdoer was dragged down the street by several angry people who were beating him, until they brought him with his arms pinned to the nearest police station.
"Many people have applauded the lynching, as they say that if they don't take justice into their own hands, these criminals will return to their old ways within a few days," independent reporter Yosmany Mayeta noted on Facebook.
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