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Authorities in Guantánamo arrested at least 11 people in recent days, organized into three gangs that were involved in a series of violent robberies in central areas of the city, according to official information.
Most of the suspects were caught in the act by the police in the early morning hours, while others were apprehended through the collaboration or direct intervention of citizens, reported the Facebook page "Guantánamo and its Truth", managed by the Ministry of the Interior (Minint).
The three gangs operated systematically during the night, in specific locations of the urban center: Camilo Cienfuegos Avenue, the area surrounding the train station, and Paseo Street from 1 Oeste to Pedro Pérez, where they are attributed with at least nine criminal incidents.
The modus operandi was consistent: hooded and armed with knives, the attackers randomly targeted vulnerable victims —those who were alone, distracted, or holding their phones— and within seconds they stripped them of their cell phones, bicycles, electric scooters, backpacks, and other personal items.
According to the source, some of the stolen goods have already been recovered by the police, and items believed to have been sold to receivers are being tracked. The investigations remain open, and the possible existence of more individuals involved cannot be ruled out.
The report highlighted as a significant element the profile of the detainees: mostly young individuals without employment connections, coming from areas of the main municipality such as the south, the north, and Los Cocos.
He also highlighted the citizens' reaction during several of the arrests as "a fact that is making a difference." In some cases, the suspects were injured after resisting when confronted by neighbors, a dynamic that has become recurrent in Cuba due to the perception of police ineffectiveness.
"People are no longer willing to remain passive victims, and this increases the risk for those who choose to engage in crime," the publication emphasized, but it did not mention the danger posed to the public by confronting criminals, who are generally armed.
The deterioration of security in the province of Guantánamo has increased in recent years. Since October 2023, residents have already reported fear of going out at night, and in 2026 the escalation has visibly accelerated.
At the end of February, the violent death of a young man identified as Vilmeidis was reported during a party in the municipality of Maisí; days later, authorities identified the suspected perpetrator of the crime and were investigating two other individuals. That same month, 19-year-old Osniel Puentes Cueto was also murdered in the town of Paraguay; the police confirmed the arrest of the alleged perpetrator of the crime.
Eight young men were arrested in Guantánamo for the systematic theft of solar lamps from public lighting, with at least 10 incidents reported in May and over twenty recovered units. Days later, a diesel theft network was dismantled involving a 110 kV generator, resulting in seven arrests and around 300 liters of diverted fuel.
At the national level, the Cuban Observatory of Citizen Audit documented 2,833 verified crimes in Cuba during 2025, a 115% increase compared to the previous year, with thefts being the predominant crime, totaling 1,536 cases.
The prolonged blackouts have created favorable conditions for nighttime crime throughout the island. In Guantánamo, the darkness caused by the power outages has been exploited for both infrastructure theft and street assaults, while the economic crisis and youth unemployment serve as structural factors that fuel criminal activity.
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