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The Baptist pastor Vladimir Valladares, from the Western Baptist Convention of Cuba, who leads a church on Villanueva Street in the neighborhood of Luyanó, in Havana, was assaulted by four men on the night of this past Saturday, May 23, during a dispute over the distribution of a water truck in front of the temple.
The testimony was sent by the pastor himself to a colleague in Miami. In it, the religious leader recounts that his church has been without access to running water for almost a month, prompting fellow believers to generously fund water trucks to support their community programs: assistance for about 80 elderly individuals, 30 children and teenagers, and Sunday worship services.
On Saturday afternoon, the church received a water truck for Sunday worship. In response to the discontent of some neighbors, the pastor offered to share the water and agreed that the truck would return later to supply the neighborhood.
That night, a fight broke out between neighbors in front of the temple. When the pastor went out to mediate, he was insulted and threatened. When he offered water to the family of the most aggressive neighbor, the man became even more enraged, and his son tried to hit him. The man then looked for a piece of wood to attack the pastor, and two other men joined in the brawl.
In the face of the threat, the pastor responded, "If it makes you feel good to beat me to death, that's fine. I know what my destiny is. Unfortunately, you lack clarity about what yours is."
The pastor managed to evade the blows and subdue one of the attackers without causing any harm. Several women from the congregation were also beaten. The pastor, his 15-year-old daughter, and other minors were locked inside the church for safety.
During the attack, the pastor made more than 15 calls to the Police without getting a response. The patrol officers arrived 20 minutes later and went first to listen to the attackers, who offered them juices and soft drinks. The officer on duty took a verbal statement from the pastor without drafting any document.
When the officers tried to arrest the assailants for public disorder, a Communist Party official prevented it arguing that it would harm the image of the neighborhood.
The president and secretary of the municipal government and party, along with the sector chief, arrived at the scene, but none of them inquired about the condition of the pastor or the minors. Instead, they brought a water pipe to the aggressors.
On Sunday, May 24, the pastor filed a report for threats at the Aguilera Police Station after the aggressors refused to apologize. The authorities informed him that the aggressors would only receive a fine of 7,000 Cuban pesos.
The incident occurs within the context of a severe water crisis in Havana. On May 15, the Cuban regime acknowledged that 376,055 people in the capital lacked regular access to drinking water, mostly due to blackouts that disable the pumps. In the informal market, water trucks cost between 18,000 and 26,000 Cuban pesos, making their possession a source of social tension.
The religious context exacerbates the situation. The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights documented 873 violations of religious freedom in Cuba during 2025, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom included Cuba in its 2026 report as a country with "serious and ongoing violations."
"The care and protection of our congregations depend solely and exclusively on our Lord, for many of those who are supposed to take care of the citizens either do not care about protecting us or are so corrupt that they are hardly interested in selling their dignity," concluded the assaulted pastor in the testimony sent to Miami, which CiberCuba has had access to.
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