A Cuban woman named Denisse Herrera Matos published a video on Instagram, reporting that someone tried to steal her motorcycle in front of the Casa de la Música in Varadero. When she called the police patrol, the officers held her responsible for not leaving the vehicle in a designated parking area.
The testimony describes how the engine was parked right in front of where she was sitting when the thieves struck. Upon returning to her vehicle, she discovered the damage: "The steering wheel was tampered with, they broke the lock, and the entire dashboard was ripped out."
Far from receiving assistance, the police response left her stunned. "The patrol blamed me, saying that I should have kept the engine in my sight, that I had to be watching the engine or leave it in a safe place where people could keep an eye on it, where there was a parking area," she recounted indignantly.
The woman pointed out that the agents took no investigative action: they neither collected fingerprints nor pursued the suspects.
"They are supposed to be the ones taking care of me. When I tell them that someone tried to steal the engine, they should, I don't know, take fingerprints, do whatever they need to do, because it's their responsibility," she claimed.
This is not the first blow that Denisse has suffered. In January, another motorcycle was stolen from inside her own house: "They broke in, entered, and stole my bike."
Denisse, who bought the used vehicle as her only means of transport, underscored her vulnerable situation: "I am a single woman and I have to figure everything out on my own."
Her complaint concludes with a phrase that encapsulates the outrage of many Cubans: "That’s why this country is in the state it is. Because the police do nothing, nor will they do anything. We have no protection whatsoever."
This week, neighbors in Cárdenas captured and tied up a suspected thief due to the police's inaction. In June, there was a report of the theft of an electric tricycle in Varadero, recorded by three neighborhood cameras without any effective response from the authorities.
The pattern of blaming victims has institutional precedents. In 2024, the Police of Las Tunas held the owners responsible for the increase in electric motorcycle thefts, arguing that the issue was the victims' "negligence." In September 2025, the Police of Camagüey even told a scam victim that "the one to blame is the scammed, not the scammer."
The Cuban Observatory of Citizen Audit recorded 2,833 verified crimes in Cuba during 2025, a 115% increase compared to 2024 and a 337% increase compared to 2023, with 1,536 thefts as the most common crime.
Matanzas, the province where this new incident occurred, topped the national ranking with 503 documented cases that year, according to data on the alarming increase in crimes in Cuba.
As crime skyrockets, analysts and independent media point out that the regime is focusing its resources on political repression, leaving citizens without real protection against crime.
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