The Cuban activist and opposition leader Juan Juan Almeida García broke his silence this week regarding the fatal accident that occurred on May 1 in Santiago de Cuba, in which multiple sources implicate his brother Juan Guillermo Almeida, known as "JG." In a live broadcast from Europe, he acknowledged that his brother "is a privileged individual of the Cuban regime" and that "he has the protection of the Castros."
The accident occurred on the morning of May 1 at the intersection of 2nd and Escario Streets, in the Santa Bárbara neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba, popularly known as "the corner of death."
The victim was Agustín Maceo Perdomo, known as "Pacolo," who was riding his moped when he was violently struck.
According to local sources, the man hit in Santiago de Cuba arrived at the Saturnino Lora Provincial Hospital claiming that he had fallen, not that he had been involved in a traffic accident, but hours later he woke up incoherent and convulsing with a diagnosis of stroke.
Agustín Maceo Perdomo passed away on the night of Monday, May 5, leaving behind a young wife and a small daughter.
Independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada confirmed the death and wrote: "This is not about surnames. It's not about power. It's about a lost life. And no life should be worth less than a surname."
Juan Juan Almeida explained that he learned about the accident online, just like the public, while he was in Europe investigating alleged money laundering cases involving the Cuban regime. He stated that he reached out to his brother JG after years of no communication, not even through text messages, specifically due to the seriousness of the situation.
Regarding the version that JG directly conveyed to him, Juan Juan was clear: "He told me, and I will quote him directly, I was not driving, but I will take responsibility as a man and as a human being."
The activist did not hide the reality of power in Cuba when referring to the possible consequences for his brother: "If a powerful person is guilty of anything, often nothing happens. There is no prison, no trial, no guilt, no prosecution, no laws, no equality, nothing. That is the plain truth."
He added: "We're talking about Cuba, and we all know how things work on that island. That's Cuba, a country without rights, a country with privilege."
According to previous reports, JG's car might be involved in the accident in Santiago and a hospital nurse anonymously reported that JG and people close to him were present during the critical days, while State Security monitored the case.
JG, salsa and reggaeton musician with businesses in Santiago de Cuba, was appointed to close the summer season in Cuba in August 2025, which reflects his ties to the regime's structures.
Commentators on social media recall a similar incident involving JG approximately 15 years ago in Mayabeque, also without legal consequences.
Juan Juan, who left Cuba in 2010 after a 65-day hunger strike and has been residing in Miami since then, was emphatic that he will never speak ill of his family publicly, but he delivered a direct message to the victim's relatives: "If at any point my brother fails —which I doubt— you can completely count on me."
The case occurs in a context of high traffic accident rates in Cuba: traffic accidents resulted in 750 deaths in 2025, out of a total of 7,538 incidents, according to the National Road Safety Commission.
On that same May 1st, at the same corner, a young doctor also died in another accident involving traffic.
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