Fines and seizures against the vulnerable: Two inspectors in Havana reported

Two inspectors who went out "to impose fines and confiscations against the most vulnerable" were exposed on social media by independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada

“These are the faces of everyday abuse,” explained Tan, who identified the incident that occurred last Friday at the intersection of Monte and Revillagigedo, in Jesús María, Havana.

The victims of the impositions by these two officials "were not large businesses or small and medium-sized entrepreneurs with capital and connections. They were street vendors, elderly individuals, and humble people who barely survive with a small table or a cart on the street."

“The scene repeats itself over and over: inspectors who do not look at the powerful, but rather at those whom they cannot bribe, those who have no protection or influence. There they were, punishing those who harm no one, chasing the daily bread of poor families,” lamented the journalist.

Tan Estrada reported that the women even tried to fine a single mother who sells candies and soft drinks at the entrance of her home to feed her children.

"Is that the crime? Surviving in a country where the salary is not enough and the State does not guarantee the bare minimum?" they questioned

"It is not order, it is not legality, it is not justice. It is abuse of power. It is a system that punishes poverty while tolerating well-connected big businesses. It is the public humiliation of those who have already lost almost everything. These actions do not solve anything. They only deepen the misery, rage, and distrust of a people tired of seeing the weakest always being attacked," the journalist concluded his reflection.

Inspectors are increasingly becoming figures of disdain in a country battered by crisis. A few months ago, two inspectors who were seemingly trying to unjustly fine a pedicab driver were confronted by a group of Cubans who did not hesitate to raise their voices in defense of the self-employed worker.

The scene was captured in a video that quickly went viral on social media. What seemed to be yet another attempt at extortion by government officials turned into an act of resistance, where the people united to reject the abuse.