A young Cuban reported on social media the theft of his grandmother's portable power station and criticized the response of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), which, he claimed, took three days to arrive at the residence and did not conduct any investigation to look into the case.
Leonardo Sánchez, identified on Instagram as @leonardosanshez, shared that he was at university when he received a call that made him return home immediately.
"Leo, they stole from your grandmother's house," they told him.
Upon arrival, he discovered that the thieves had not forced the front door. Instead, they cut two slats from an aluminum blind to take the portable power station, a device increasingly coveted in Cuba due to the prolonged blackouts.
"It turns out that two slats of the blind were broken. The blinds are made of aluminum, and that's how they got the power station from my grandmother," he explained in a video posted on Instagram.
"They told us that they had more cases."
After reporting the theft, the family expected a prompt response from the police.
However, according to Leonardo, the agents informed them that at that moment they could not respond because they had "more cases like that."
The visit arrived three days later.
"They showed up three days later and didn’t go straight to do an investigation or anything. They came to interrogate, and then they left. Just like that. There hasn’t been any response to anything," he lamented.
The young man explained that he did not post the video immediately because all his attention was focused on his grandmother, a hypertensive woman who suffered a severe emotional impact after the robbery.
Beyond what happened with his family, Leonardo questioned the priorities of the authorities.
"If I had created content related to the situation in this country... they might have knocked on my door first thing in the morning," he stated.
In his opinion, the speed with which the authorities act on political matters stands in stark contrast to the responses received by those who report common crimes.
"Everything pursued here is related to politics, to communism, and to anything that has to do with counter-revolution," he said.
An experience shared by many
The post provoked numerous reactions from other Cubans who claimed to have experienced similar situations.
The most supported comment captured the sentiments of many users:
"The police are busy arresting people who are protesting against the government."
Another internet user joked:
"Next time, say they wrote 'Down with communism' at your house and they'll come right away."
A third user stated that they hadn't even received a visit from the agents after experiencing a robbery.
"At least they were. They robbed me of everything, even the cold, a month ago, and I'm still waiting for the police."
Rising Theft
This case is part of an unprecedented wave of criminality in Cuba, where thefts topped criminal statistics in 2025 with 1,536 cases, an increase of 479% since 2023. In the first half of 2026, at least 685 violent incidents and 175 fatalities were documented.
Elderly adults have become the prime target of thieves. In April 2026, an 87-year-old man was robbed in Matanzas while he was sleeping, and they took away his only solar power equipment. In June, an 88-year-old woman was found with injuries after being assaulted in Havana, and another 83-year-old woman was attacked during a blackout in Camagüey.
The pattern of police inaction is systematic. On July 1st, a Cuban in Guanabacoa reported that the police did not act even though the robbery was committed with an identified state truck. In Santiago de Cuba, a family waited over 10 hours without any police response. 20% of the PNR personnel have left the force due to low salaries, leaving large areas without coverage.
At the end of his video, Leonardo made a recommendation to those who own this type of equipment, convinced that prevention is the best defense.
"Preventing this kind of thing will be better because in the end, no one is going to solve any problems for you. If you have a power station far from where you sleep, which is the most vulnerable time, take it and put it in the room," he advised.
Filed under: