Related videos:
An official profile linked to the Cuban regime circulated on Facebook the arrest of a young man in Matanzas for the theft of ten pigeons, presenting it as a significant police achievement worthy of public celebration.
The case is the most recent example of a systematic strategy by the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and its related profiles on social media: publicizing arrests for minor offenses to project an image of efficiency and control of public order that does not align with reality.
While the authorities make a big deal about the recovery of ten birds, Matanzas is precisely the province most affected by crime throughout the country.
According to the Cuban Citizen Audit Observatory (OCAC), Matanzas topped the national crime ranking in 2025 with 503 verified crimes, followed by Granma with 424, Havana with 398, and Santiago de Cuba with 323.
Nationwide, the OCAC documented 2,833 verified crimes in Cuba in 2025, an increase of 115% compared to 2024 and 337% compared to 2023.
Theft was the predominant crime with 1,536 reported cases, a figure that reflects a 479% increase since 2023.
In that context of rampant criminality, the Matanzas police did not show up for days at the home of a mother who was robbed in Colón after she filed the report in early April.
However, the propaganda apparatus of MININT does not rest: in recent weeks, it celebrated on social media the recovery of stolen solar panels in Colón, the return of a television in Isla de la Juventud, a public event for the return of stolen goods in Punta Gorda, Cienfuegos, and the discovery of 110 boxes of chicken, all presented as victories of "the best police force in the world" and "an invincible force united with the people."
The contrast is even more stark when recalling that on April 17, an electric tricycle driver was murdered in a violent assault in Matanzas, a crime that received less than half the official media attention that is now being given to the theft of ten pigeons.
Hooded individuals raided a home in Cárdenas, Matanzas, injuring its occupants in December 2025, in yet another episode of violence that the regime chose not to present as a case study.
The strategy of MININT follows a well-documented propaganda logic: faced with the inability to curb the actual rise in crime, the regime selects cases of minimal legal significance —a television, some boxes of chicken, ten pigeons— to feed the narrative of "zero tolerance" and create an artificial perception of control.
The arrest of the young man from Matanzas for stealing ten pigeons, eagerly reported by an official profile, precisely illustrates the gap between the regime's propaganda and the insecurity that the Cuban people face daily.
Filed under: