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A man was recently arrested in Cárdenas while tearing down blocks from an old university building, amid increasing citizen complaints about looting, state neglect, and rising crime in the province of Matanzas.
The man, identified as Yoan Jiménez Hernández, was captured while tearing down concrete blocks from the former university headquarters "Aida Pelayo," in the city of Cárdenas, reported this Saturday the Facebook page of the official profile Con Todos La Victoria, linked to the Ministry of the Interior.
The official publication itself described the scene with an ironic tone. "The guy was removing some blocks as if they were Lego pieces, armed with a hoe and a mallet," it noted, while highlighting the level of deterioration and vulnerability of abandoned state facilities or those without effective oversight.
According to the source, Jiménez was arrested on the spot and placed at the disposal of the Justice system. The authorities accompanied this information with their usual slogan, "In the face of crime, illegalities, and social indiscipline, ZERO TOLERANCE!", a statement that stands in stark contrast to the ongoing complaints from citizens regarding the rise of looting and criminality.
The comments on the post revealed that the case is far from isolated. Neighbors reported that the systematic theft of blocks and construction materials is affecting schools, sports areas, and other public spaces in various municipalities of Matanzas.
Neighbor Elia Rosa Faz García pointed out that the perimeter fence of the Oscar Rodríguez primary school, located at Minerva and Línea, has also lost blocks, "a place that is very necessary for our children due to the traffic."
From Jovellanos, Damarys Rosa Fernandez Mesa warned that urban decay is advancing unchecked. "In the Horacio sports field, there are no blocks left; night after night, they are dismantling it," she pointed out.
Other comments pointed directly to police inaction. Rosa Amelia Cabrera Gomez criticized that the officers "are locked inside their units eating, sleeping" and that judges and prosecutors act with impunity.
Marlene Blazquez summarized the pattern. "There’s nothing that closes down, and just a few days later, the stone throwers come and destroy everything," she illustrated.
For her part, Bárbara De Armas summarized the feelings of many citizens regarding the case: "With those shameless individuals. Zero tolerance. Harsh punishment."
The citizens' perception of helplessness coincides with a context of increasing crime in Matanzas. According to the Cuban Citizen Audit Observatory (OCAC), the province recorded 503 verified crimes in 2025, the highest number in the country, surpassing Granma, Havana, and Santiago de Cuba.
At a national level, the OCAC documented 2,833 crimes in 2025, a 115% increase compared to 2024 and a 337% increase compared to 2023. Thefts were the most common crime, with 1,536 cases, marking a 479% increase since 2023.
Cárdenas has experienced a series of criminal incidents in recent months. In April, three masked youths armed with weapons robbed an ice cream factory in the city.
In May, a suspect was arrested for the crime against a young worker whose animal-drawn vehicle was also stolen, while in February, a robbery in broad daylight sparked outrage on social media.
The looting of construction materials from state buildings is a response to the extreme scarcity faced by the Cuban population. With 89% of Cubans living in extreme poverty, according to the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, and given the impossibility of obtaining construction materials through legal means, many turn to dismantling abandoned or unused properties.
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