At least 13 people remain in custody in Guantánamo for their alleged involvement in a series of violent attacks against farming properties, where groups of individuals reportedly threatened families, threw rocks at homes, and stole almost all the animals they could find.
The official profile Guantánamo y su Verdad, linked to the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), reported this Tuesday that the events recently occurred in rural communities of El Salvador, Cuatro Caminos, Santa María de Guantánamo, and Manuel Tames, and stated that among those arrested are the two alleged leaders of the investigated groups.
According to the report shared on Facebook, the assaults mainly occurred at night or in the early morning hours.
In some cases, the alleged criminals operated with hoods on and resorted to threats and a unique form of intimidation: they hurled bursts of stones against the houses to prevent their residents from coming out.
While the families stayed inside their homes, the attackers reportedly used clippers and other tools to force open pens and enclosures to steal the animals.
According to the testimonies gathered by the site, in some attacks the farms were practically emptied. Among the stolen animals are cows, oxen, horses, mules, pigs, sheep, and poultry.
To transport them, the groups used vans and, in certain cases, they also allegedly stole those belonging to the farmers themselves.
The violence used during the assaults did not only result in material losses. The source confirmed that a woman is recovering from a maxillofacial fracture caused by a stone thrown during one of the attacks.
The investigation would have also established that there were two interconnected groups, and after several initial arrests, most of the suspected individuals were captured in recent days.
The official profile provided details of one of the most serious incidents, which occurred in La Ninfa del Guaso. According to the version circulated, the owner of a farm, who legally possessed a hunting weapon, confronted a group of alleged aggressors and fired several shots.
Four of the alleged attackers were hit by pellets and were subsequently arrested. The spokesperson for the Minint stated that they remain in the custody of the authorities.
However, the fear generated by the assaults reached a point where some producers temporarily abandoned their properties. According to the information, two farmers have already returned to their farms after the arrests.
In addition, he attributed the capture of the suspects to the cooperation of residents from the affected communities and several agencies of the Minint.
In a triumphalist tone, the publication stated that the area was regaining tranquility following the arrests. However, in the comments, a user identified as Anioje Ochoa pointed out that similar incidents continue to occur in other rural localities.
According to reports, during the night on Tuesday, in the area of Carmelié, in Palma Soriano, in the neighboring province of Santiago de Cuba, a group of four or five individuals allegedly entered a home and stolen some personal belongings.
The individuals also would have cut the chain of a pen with the apparent intention of stealing the animals, but the owner heard noises, got up, and called for help.
Ochoa stated that the alleged criminals then began to throw stones at the house, a manner of acting similar to that described in the attacks in Guantánamo.
Finally, they were unable to take the animals, and according to their testimony, no one was seriously injured. “We cannot sleep, we cannot live,” he lamented, before calling for urgent measures against those who commit these crimes.
He also stated that "the night in the countryside has become a terror with the animals and the owners," and criticized the police response to a situation that, he pointed out, is putting lives at risk.
In July of last year, the rancher Antonio Yemén, known as “Toñito,” was found dead on his farm in Cerrajón Arriba, in Manuel Tames, Guantánamo, after an alleged assault during which several cows, a mule, and other animals were reportedly stolen.
Residents of the area reported that he had been tied up and beaten, highlighting the wave of violence and insecurity that the rural population is suffering in that and other provinces of eastern Cuba.
Just a few days earlier, a farmer from Songo-La Maya, Santiago de Cuba, reported that armed men attacked his farm in the early morning.
According to his account, the attackers confronted him with a gun and stones, killed his dogs, and attempted to take his animals, a situation that led him to announce that he would leave the land.
In May, farmer Osvaldo Carbonel was murdered in Segundo Frente, Santiago de Cuba, after recovering a team of oxen that had been stolen from him days earlier.
According to the report released at the time, the alleged perpetrators later returned and attacked him.
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