The sword of the statue of Major General Julio Grave de Peralta (1834-1872) was stolen once again from the park that bears his name, also known as Parque de las Flores, one of the most central and historic public spaces in Holguín,
The report, recently shared in the Facebook group Holguín en fotos, included comparative images that show the item was intact just a month ago.
The incident occurs with a frequency that alarms the residents of Holguín, as several city dwellers reported in the publication that the sword has been stolen at least three times.
"The curious thing is that the sword has been stolen, as far as I remember, at least three times. Two of those incidents occurred before 2020. There must be many more. The solution would be to permanently attach it to the sculpture. I don’t understand why it is a separate element that can be taken away," wrote citizen Carlos Noval Mora.
The content creator Ghabriel Pérez, who resides in Holguín, pointed out in a video the symbolic dimension of theft.
"You wouldn't need to write a sign saying Homeland and Life for them to detain you. Just with the word Homeland on your sign, you would already be arrested. However, in plain sight, in front of the Holguin television channel (Telecristal), they robbed the machete from the second most important patriot in the city of Holguín," he commented
The author of the complaint in Holguín noted in photos that the gates of the perimeter fence of the park are also missing, and expressed with bitterness, "I wouldn’t be surprised if one day we wake up and the statue of Calixto García (1839-1898) is gone, because someone needed it for a practical job."
This is not the first documented act of vandalism in that space. In December 2025, a man was caught on video ripping a railing from the Parque de las Flores in broad daylight without anyone intervening, an incident that led to a report on national television which apparently had no deterrent effect whatsoever.
The citizens' outrage over the latest theft reflects a pattern of decline that extends beyond the park. "What is the police doing? Issuing fines for selling a little package or anything else, or bothering people with different thoughts... while crime goes unpunished," questioned user Marlene Rodríguez.
Other residents point to the complete absence of authority. "They haven't left a single bench in the parks; there is no authority in this city. Please, every day they are destroying our beautiful city," wrote Mañi Cobiella Valdivia.
Manuel Iniesta Ortega, a resident of Holguín nearing 60 years of age, summarized the collective sentiment. "We have always prided ourselves on being a clean city, where order, respect, and sound judgment prevailed. A lack of sense of belonging cannot arise among the people of Holguín. The idea that vandalistic acts could take on a more dangerous tone at any moment terrifies me," he confessed.
The deterioration extends throughout the city. The garbage dumps burn every night in Holguín, once considered the cleanest city in Cuba. The old Holguín-Gibara train station was reported as a dumping ground in April, and the sculpture of the woman with a parasol on the pedestrian boulevard is at risk of collapse.
On its part, the municipal cemetery of Mayabe was reported for desecration and neglect in February, with broken niches and exposed skeletal remains.
The phenomenon is not exclusive to Holguín. Citizen Loriet Cañadilla Sánchez raised the alarm. "In Bayamo, they are taking the marble from the Plaza de la Patria, the streetlights; in Pase de Los Alazanes, they have already taken all the lamps along with their bases and everything."
The Cuban Observatory for Citizen Auditing recorded 2,833 crimes in Cuba in 2025, a 115% increase compared to 2024, with 1,536 thefts, representing a 479% rise since 2023.
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