A thief who assaulted a young woman with a knife and stole her cellphone in Old Havana on Thursday was captured by police after fleeing the scene.
The criminal was apprehended around 11 a.m. at the intersection of Obrapía and Mercaderes in the historic center of the capital, reported the Facebook profile "El Cubano Fiel," linked to the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), along with photos of the arrest.
The individual "grabbed the weapon shown in the image, threatened a girl, took an iPhone from her, and ran away," the publication specified.
"A group of plainclothes police" chased the thief for at least four blocks until they apprehended him, according to the account provided by the website, which did not disclose the identity of the arrested individual.
In a triumphalist tone, as is customary for this type of social media profiles associated with the regime, the post celebrated the "swift" actions of the officers, who returned the mobile phone to its owner, stating that, thanks to this, society now has "one less criminal on the streets."
While the official discourse of the regime attempts to downplay the rising escalation of crime and social violence in Cuba in recent years, and to rehabilitate the image of the police, the population criticizes the ineffective actions of law enforcement and lives in fear of the increasing insecurity in the country.
Authorities insist that crime rates have decreased, but the public does not perceive it that way.
In statements to the British network BBC, the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Cuba, Maricela Sosa Ravelo, asserted that insecurity in the country is an issue exacerbated by social media and blamed defamatory campaigns promoted from the United States.
Thefts and assaults on streets, homes, and commercial establishments, many of which end with the murder of the victims, have become frequent occurrences in Cuba as the economic crisis has intensified.
This month, criminals killed two security guards at their respective workplaces, an agricultural market and a paladar, in Santiago de Cuba, with the intention of stealing.
In another crime that shocked the residents of Jovellanos, in Matanzas, thieves killed 22-year-old Jesús David Corcho Pérez to steal his motorcycle.
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