The Government of Havana is now focusing on bike taxis and other vehicles that circulate with loud music: the police have begun to seize speakers and audio equipment, impose fines, and threaten repeat offenders with possible criminal charges.
The Municipal Assembly of the People's Power of Centro Habana informed on Facebook that the Traffic Division of the Revolutionary National Police took action against drivers identified for causing noise pollution.
According to the statement, the agents confiscated speakers and audio equipment from drivers of pedicabs and other vehicles that were playing music "very loudly."
The individuals involved were also fined under Article 102, paragraph 10, of Law 109 of the Road Safety Code.
Authorities assured that drivers were warned that, in the event of reoffending, they could be prosecuted and charged with the offense of disobedience.
The official publication did not specify how many pedicab drivers were sanctioned, the amount of the fines, the number of confiscated vehicles, or the streets in Centro Habana where the operations took place. However, it made it clear that the government is now focusing on noise pollution.
The offensive against noise is not new, although it does seem to be in vogue. In 2018, the regime launched a crusade against loud music after receiving thousands of monthly complaints.
Among the highlighted areas at that time were precisely the pedicabs that circulated in Centro Habana, La Habana Vieja, and Guanabo.
But this story has another side: the drivers of these vehicles have been reporting the pressure from police and inspectors for years. In 2022, bicitaxi drivers in Old Havana described the increase in fines as abusive and claimed that they were penalized even for briefly stopping on the road.
Police actions related to music have also sparked complaints about excessive use of force. That same year, several officers were accused of assaulting young people who were listening to music with a portable speaker on the Havana waterfront.
The speed displayed now against the bicitaxis contrasts with the lack of response reported regarding noise sources belonging to the State itself.
Residents of Nuevo Vedado recently stated that a generator from ETECSA was preventing them from sleeping during the day and at night, without the company addressing the issue.
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