Two fetuses were discovered this Thursday among the garbage piled up at the corner of Zanja and Oquendo in Centro Habana, a shocking finding that prompted police action and drew dozens of neighbors to the scene.
The incident occurred in the afternoon and, so far, the circumstances surrounding how the bodies ended up there remain unknown, according to the independent media outlet CubaNet.
After 5:00 p.m., agents of the Revolutionary National Police (PNR) cordoned off the area with yellow tape where the fetuses were found. A vehicle identified as "Operative Guard" was also present at the scene.
At the close of this report, the Cuban authorities had not released any police or forensic report that would clarify what had occurred.
Images circulated from Centro Habana show the two bodies on the pavement, next to a pile of debris, while numerous residents remained around the perimeter established by the police.
From those images, it is not possible to determine the gestational age of the fetuses, their cause of death or origin, nor to establish whether they belonged to the same pregnancy.
The case occurs just three weeks after another shocking discovery in the same municipality. On August 13, the lifeless body of a baby was reported found inside a cardboard box at the corner of Virtudes and Belascoaín.
On that occasion, reports circulated about the arrest of a woman allegedly connected to the incident, but the Cuban authorities also did not publicly provide details about the investigation.
Another case occurred in March of this year in Artemisa, where two male fetuses between 20 and 22 weeks were found next to a garbage container.
According to the official newspaper El Artemiseño, an investigation by the General Directorate of Health of that province concluded that they corresponded "apparently to a twin pregnancy and to an abortion that occurred outside a healthcare institution."
In recent years, there have been documented findings of stillborn babies in Old Havana, Pinar del Río, San Miguel del Padrón, and the Cerro municipality.
The information is in development.
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