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A young man known as "Cuquito" was murdered on Sunday night in the Las Guásimas neighborhood, Arroyo Naranjo municipality, Havana, while having a video call with his father, who lives in the United States and witnessed the attack on screen without being able to do anything.
The crime occurred near the Leopoldito Martínez shelters, right on Mother's Day in Cuba, which intensified the emotional impact on the family and the entire community, reported the group Managua, Cuba.
Neighbors and residents of Las Guásimas point to a man known as "El Guama" as the alleged responsible party, who is also a resident of the neighborhood.
According to testimonies, hours before the crime, the same individual had gone to the victim's house to ask for rum, which Cuquito's mother—known as "La Java"—gave him on credit, unaware of the tragedy that would follow.
After the attack, the young man tried to survive. Some witnesses claim in the comments section that he ran injured, trying to reach his home, while others assert that he made it to his best friend's house, where he finally collapsed from the severity of his injuries.
A neighbor who was present at the polyclinic described the scene as "heartbreaking" and added that "there are no words to describe what happened last night at the polyclinic, a young boy full of life."
A person identified as the victim's uncle, Mandy Hernández, posted on Facebook: "They killed my nephew. Hours earlier we were talking and laughing, I have no words to express the pain I feel with his departure, they took him from me."
In another post, she described him as “the joyful one, the one who had to be there to make the party fun, the affectionate one with everyone, the respectful boy, full of virtues.”
A study mate of the victim wrote that he was "the kindest and most good-hearted kid" he had ever known, "a kid who had no malice and was very responsible."
Some commentators on social media suggested that the possible motive for the crime was the theft of a cellphone, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Cuquito's mother, "La Java," is described by neighbors as a deeply beloved woman in Managua and Las Guásimas for having distributed bread for years and helping numerous humble families in the community.
Citizen outrage was expressed en masse on social media, with dozens of people demanding justice and denouncing impunity and the lack of security in Cuba.
The crime occurs in the context of a sustained escalation of violence in Cuba: the Cuban Citizen Audit Observatory recorded 2,833 verified crimes in 2025, an increase of 115% compared to 2024 and 337% compared to 2023.
Arroyo Naranjo has been the scene of several violent crimes in recent years, including the murder of musician Rayne Paisan Dales in February 2025 and that of Diosdaysis Sandoval Damas in November 2025 in La Güinera.
A commentator summed up the feelings of the community with a phrase that captures the double pain of the date: "They killed the son and they also killed the mother while she was still alive. This is definitely hell."
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