Yureibys Torresilla, known in Sancti Spíritus as "The Hero," found a black Nike backpack in his neighborhood containing a significant amount of Cuban pesos and turned to social media to locate its owner, refusing to keep what does not belong to him.
The activist, one of the leaders of the humanitarian project "Hermanos de la Calle," published images of the backpack and its contents: several bundles of bills in denominations of 20, 50, 100, and 200 Cuban pesos.
"I have this backpack in my possession; I found it here in my neighborhood. It has all this money inside, but there is no identification. What a situation, I'm at home, Independence #203, next to the provincial camping site after the funeral home, there is no identity," Torresilla wrote on his profile.
To prevent someone from claiming the money without being the rightful owner, the activist devised a verification mechanism: inside the backpack, there is an object whose description only the true owner would know.
There's something inside, and whoever comes needs to tell me what it is, he warned in the comments section of the post.
The reaction from his followers was immediate and split between admiration and concern. Several warned him about the risks of having publicly disclosed his address along with the contents of the backpack.
“Be careful, they can take your address and go looking for her, don’t trust anyone,” wrote Nelys Valdés, who also acknowledged that Torresilla "has a big heart and is very honest."
Another follower, Ana Sofia Cardoso Curras, went further and suggested that it might be a trap: "Be very careful, they may have set a bait for you; there's something fishy going on. Take a picture of whoever comes to claim it, and when you hand it over, do it in front of at least three witnesses."
Torresilla calmly responded to both warnings: "No ma'am, thank you, but that's not how it is... someone dropped it."
Another one of his closest followers pointed out that this new gesture is consistent with who he is. "Always with his good heart, someone who gives what he has even if he is left with nothing to ask for, but who does not want what is not his," wrote Reinier Pérez in the comments.
The gesture carries special significance in the current context, as the country is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in its history. In this environment, any sum of cash represents a valuable asset for a Cuban family.
Torresilla is not a stranger in the province. From his home on Independencia Street #203, he organizes solidarity meals for vulnerable individuals and distributes medications and food to those in greatest need, primarily funded by donations from Cubans living abroad.
The regime has attempted to obstruct his work on more than one occasion. In November, authorities mistreated the activist while he was trying to deliver medications for 700 people at a state market.
After that episode, Torresilla declared: "We will never ask for permission from any State establishment to do good."
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