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A Cuban resident of Miami was arrested this Tuesday, accused of assaulting a United States Postal Service employee, whom she attempted to run over with her vehicle three times and threatened to shoot, in a racially motivated attack, according to authorities.
Lourdes María Portugués, 34 years old, faces serious charges for felonies following the violent attack on the postal worker, an African American woman, in Little Havana.
The incident occurred around 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday, near the home of the accused, in the 1000 block of Northwest 18th Place, as the mail carrier was making her usual delivery route in that predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.
The arrest report indicates that it all started when the suspect's youngest son approached the postal worker to collect the mail, at which point Portugués shouted a phrase with a racial slur directed at the worker: "Don't talk to her, we don't talk to ne....".
The employee responded that she was just delivering the mail, after which Portugués took a hose from the front yard and sprayed her with water, prompting the victim to call 911.
The situation escalated violently when Portugués grabbed her bag, got into her silver Lincoln Nautilus SUV, and intentionally accelerated toward the worker, forcing her to extend her arms over the vehicle and step back to avoid being run over.
Then he backed up and tried to charge at her again, but the woman ran and took shelter behind a parked car.
Portugués then made a U-turn at the end of the block and accelerated toward her at high speed, forcing several witnesses to run to the sidewalk to avoid being hit.
After parking the vehicle, Portugués entered his home and shouted threats: "I'm going to shoot you, I have a gun inside my house."
The youngest son of Portugués told the agents that he saw her placing bullets in a gun inside her room. Later, upon entering the house, the agents found a compressed air pistol and ammunition.
Surveillance videos of the area corroborated the statements of the postal worker, according to the arrest report.
"She got into her vehicle and tried to run over the purse holder not once, not twice, but three times. Fortunately, the purse holder was not injured, 911 was called, and we arrived at the scene," stated Miami Police spokesperson Mike Vega.
Portuguese was detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK).
Defendant appears in court
This Wednesday, Lourdes Portugués appeared in court. The charges brought against her include two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with bias motivation.
The State Attorney's Office of Miami-Dade County indicated that it will review the case to determine if the charge can be elevated to a hate crime due to the racial nature of the incident.
The judge set the bail at $15,000 and ordered that he remain under house arrest.
According to court records, Portuguese has been arrested before on at least two occasions: in 2024 for assault and another prior incident for a drug-related charge.
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