A woman identified as Dagmara Maceira recorded a video from the shore of Siboney beach in Santiago de Cuba, where she reported the presence of a shark just a few meters away from where her daughters were swimming.
The sighting occurred on Sunday, when bathers saw the animal approaching the shore in the afternoon. According to witnesses, the shark was approximately two meters long, and its behavior suggested that it might be sick or injured.
In the video, Maceira shows the beach nearly empty, with bathers taking shelter in the sand, and points out the exact spot where the animal was moments before.
"That shark was right here, look, just close by... that was where the shark was and the girls were swimming right here," he recounted with evident distress, insisting that no one had warned the public about the danger.
In her written post, Maceira was more direct in her criticism: "It's unbelievable how there have been sharks at Siboney Beach for days and no one is saying anything. There are no warning signs on the beach, swimming has not been banned, the beach has not been closed, nothing is happening, and no one is speaking up. Where are those who are responsible for this? It's a serious danger, for God's sake."
The woman acknowledged that fear prevented her from recording the animal directly: "I couldn't capture video due to fear and the chaos," she wrote, although she clarified that the shark sighted was small and that they only saw one, despite rumors circulating that there were more.
It was two days after the sighting, on Tuesday, when the Aquatic Security authorities of Santiago de Cuba ordered the temporary suspension of bathing in Siboney.
The official alert was issued by Aris Arias Batalla, provincial head of Operations and Relief for Aquatic Security, who confirmed that the animal continued to be in the area: "I have been informed that it is still roaming the Siboney coastal area."
Despite the closure, Arias acknowledged that the measure was not respected by everyone: "Just a few minutes ago, I contacted a volunteer and resident of the area by phone, who reported that despite the warnings, there are people inside the beach," he noted.
To address the situation, several organizations were activated: the XX Aniversario polyclinic, the Risk Management Center, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (CITMA), the Lifeguard Corps, and Red Cross volunteers residing in the area.
Siboney is the most popular beach resort in Santiago de Cuba, located about 15 km east of the capital city, and it sees its highest attendance precisely between June and September, during the peak school vacation season.
The incident is not the first of its kind in Cuba in recent months. In May, a shark weighing over 500 kg was caught at Yumurí beach in Baracoa, and in December 2024, several sharks swam near the shore at Cayo Santa María in Villa Clara, prompting the evacuation of swimmers.
Historically, shark attacks in Cuba are very rare: between 1749 and 2023, approximately 47 incidents were recorded throughout the archipelago, with 23 confirmed deaths.
The last recorded fatal attack occurred in November 2017 in Guardalavaca, Holguín, where a 22-year-old young man lost his life.
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