A young resident of Centro Habana identified as Dayan Sotolongo reported this Sunday the theft of his motorcycle adapted for individuals with physical disabilities, his only means of transportation, and made a desperate appeal to the public to help recover it.
In urgent posts on her Facebook profile and in a video on her stories, Sotolongo explained that the stolen vehicle is a four-wheeled electric scooter, specifically designed for people with physical disabilities.
"It’s not the same motorcycle as all the others; it’s a four-wheeled motorcycle designed for people with physical disabilities," declared the visibly affected young man in the video.
Sotolongo mentioned that the vehicle had been sent by a friend with great financial effort so that he could move independently around Havana.
"They stole my motorcycle, please, I need your help. I'm going to send you a picture of the motorcycle, a motorcycle that was sent to me by a friend so I could get around here in Havana," he said.
The young man emphasized that losing that vehicle means losing his autonomy completely: "That's all I have, transportation so I can move around, so I can go out, so I can get around."
In his posts, Sotolongo shared photographs of the scooter —a matte black tricycle or quadricycle with dual angular headlights— parked on a sidewalk in Centro Habana, and provided his personal phone number, 50781272, for anyone who sees it to contact him immediately.
For people with disabilities in Cuba, an adapted motorcycle is not a luxury but a vital necessity.
Access to these vehicles is extremely limited: they must be imported by relatives or friends from abroad with significant financial sacrifice, or purchased at prohibitive prices in foreign currency, in a country where public transportation is in collapse and accessible infrastructure is virtually non-existent.
The case of Sotolongo adds to a growing wave of electric motorcycle thefts in Havana, a phenomenon driven by the severe transportation and energy crisis facing Cuba, which has increased the value of these vehicles and made them a frequent target for criminals.
The documented cases show various modalities: thefts inside homes in La Lisa, violent assaults in public places, and even attacks on university students through deception on social media.
Faced with the slow response from the police, victims systematically turn to public reports on Facebook, offering rewards in dollars or Cuban pesos. In previous cases, the rewards have reached up to 200,000 Cuban pesos for information leading to the recovery of the vehicle.
Sotolongo concluded his call with a direct plea: "I truly need your help to get the motorcycle, please, from the bottom of my heart. It was sent with a lot of sacrifice by the person who helped me."
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