A man reportedly entered a maternity home in Santiago de Cuba early in the morning, reached the area where the patients were, and threatened a pregnant woman with a knife to steal her belongings, according to a complaint shared on social media this Saturday.
The incident was reported by Anier Armando Vaquero López on Facebook, who placed the occurrence at the Los Ángeles Clinic, a facility that currently operates as a Maternal Home.
His profile also features photographs of his pregnant wife, a detail that suggests she might be admitted to that facility, although Vaquero did not confirm this explicitly in the post.
“How long will the lack of security in our hospitals continue?”, he questioned while recounting the alleged assault.
According to their report, the individual managed to enter the institution in the early morning, reach one of the pregnant women, threaten her with a weapon, and take her belongings.
The report does not specify what items were stolen nor does it publicly identify the victim.
Vaquero questioned how an armed individual was able to access a center designated for pregnant women and move around its facilities without being stopped.
"How does a criminal manage to enter a Maternal Home? How does he get to where the patients are? Where is the security when these incidents occur?" he asked.
The young man called for greater vigilance and effective measures to protect patients and their families.
"A pregnant woman should be concerned about the well-being of her baby, not about whether someone is going to enter her room to threaten her with a weapon and steal from her," she wrote.
Vaquero also stated that the incident would not be isolated and pointed out the existence of similar situations in other healthcare facilities in Santiago de Cuba.
"The hospitals and maternity homes cannot become unsafe places," he stated.
The young man requested that the new episode be investigated and called for solutions before a more serious incident occurs.
Entering a hospital should mean being protected, not being exposed to crime," he concluded.
The comments on his post included numerous testimonies about alleged thefts and control issues in the city's healthcare institutions.
Mariolis Matamoros stated that the place "has become a distraction for criminals" and questioned where the guards responsible for protecting pregnant women are.
Areidys Tamayo Jiménez stated that at the "Centro Gallego," there had been two thefts in less than two weeks, during which more than 11 phones, along with sheets and fans, went missing.
According to their comment, the police arrived about 12 hours after one of the incidents.
For her part, Rosii Pérez responded that she is currently admitted to that center and asserted that she witnessed those two robberies: "We are still here without answers and without safety," she stated.
Ire LopezIsalgue recounted an even more recent case than the one reported this Saturday. According to what she wrote, her pregnant daughter-in-law was a victim the night before of a criminal who entered her mother's home, threatened her with a knife, and stole her belongings.
Another user, Martha Yanyac, commented that similar incidents were occurring at the North Children's Hospital, while Brenda Isabel Leyva Rodríguez recalled another episode in which, according to her testimony, a thief entered a cubicle in a hospital in Santiago de Cuba and took the phones of a new mother and her own mother.
Evelyn Suchel assured that this would not be the first time such intrusions have occurred and stated that in less than a month, thieves would have broken in three times.
To the photo, Airling Luna Fonseca joined, stating that she had been admitted to the same maternity home, and asserted that people were coming and going "at all hours" and that there was no effective control over access.
Ana Bárbara Vallesillo recalled another alleged incident at the Clinical Hospital, where an individual reportedly brought a sharp weapon. She also stated that on another occasion, a pregnant woman had her phone taken away during the day in a hallway.
Reports of thefts within hospitals in Santiago have a history. In April 2024, it was reported that patients and staff were reporting thefts at the Maternity Hospital Este, known as Centro Gallego. Among the testimonies were mentions of lost phones and belongings of pregnant women and their companions.
In November of that same year, there were also reports of thefts from patients and families at the Children's Hospital Sur "Dr. Antonio María Béguez César".
One of the stories described a thief entering a cubicle in the early morning and taking a cellphone and a bag.
The situation reemerged last March when a suspected thief was arrested inside that same pediatric hospital who witnesses alleged was responsible for previous thefts of phones belonging to patients' families.
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