An unusual incident that allegedly occurred this Friday in Santiago de Cuba has sparked numerous reactions on social media: a young man accused of snatching two gold chains reportedly swallowed the jewelry when several people surrounded him.
The communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada revealed the case this Friday in a Facebook post, based on a complaint and audiovisual material that, as he explained, were sent to his page.
According to that version, the incident would have occurred in the vicinity of Calle 7 and Escario, in the Santa Bárbara neighborhood.
The young man shown in the shared images is believed to have stolen the two chains and, when surrounded by several people, allegedly decided to swallow them.
The photographs and video show a man lying on the ground while several people stand around him accusing him of having committed the crime. However, the images alone do not provide evidence that he committed the alleged theft or confirm that he actually ingested the items.
Mayeta specifically warned that he had not been able to independently verify all the details and that up to that point, it was also not officially known whether the police had intervened or what had happened subsequently with the chains.
The peculiar story provoked dozens of comments, many of them humorous and others containing vulgar expressions or suggestions for punishment that we will not reproduce.
Among the more moderate reactions, some users summarized their surprise with phrases like "My God, what madness", "when you think you've seen it all", and "speechless".
Others joked about how the garments could be recovered, while several participants expressed concern about the level of insecurity they perceive in Cuba.
A user commented: “Words fail to describe what is happening here in Cuba”, while another summarized her reaction by questioning what is happening “with the brains of the thieves.”
A recurring criticism also resurfaced in these types of episodes: that it is the citizens themselves who end up surrounding or holding individuals accused of alleged crimes before the authorities intervene.
“And the people doing the job of the police,” commented a user.
Equally unusual scenes related to alleged robberies have circulated on social media in recent months.
In May 2025, a man was left hanging from a building in La Habana del Este while apparently trying to escape after breaking in to commit a theft, using a makeshift rope made of sheets. The firefighters had to intervene to rescue him.
In August of this year, another striking incident occurred when a man accused of snatching a phone from a child ended up jumping into the sea from the Malecón in Havana while being chased by several people. He was later retrieved from the water and taken away by police officers.
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