José Luis Gómez Calderón, technician of the orchestra Yumurí and his Brothers, reported to CubaNet that he was threatened with imprisonment and separation from his three children if he does not leave the premises he has occupied since his home collapsed on July 13.
Gómez has been caring for his children—Paola Coralí, 11 years old; Daniela, 10; and Messi, 9—since 2022, when their mother left the home. After the collapse, he visited the offices of Housing, the municipal government, and the Prosecutor's Office on Obispo, obtaining nothing more than postponed promises, while he and the three minors slept on the street for almost three weeks.
In light of institutional neglect, he decided to take up residence in an empty space located at Cuba Street #604, in Old Havana. Initially, representatives from the municipal government and the Housing Department allowed him to stay temporarily and also accommodated other homeless individuals there.
However, over time, those families left due to a lack of resources to adapt the space. Gómez remained and, using his own income, added a bathroom, installed running water, and separated the area where the children sleep.
A few days ago, an alleged official who identified himself as a representative of the Prosecutor's Office, accompanied by the sector chief, demanded that he vacate the property under a dual threat: imprisonment for him and the transfer of the minors to a foster care home.
"If I don't go out, I'm going to be arrested, and the children will be taken to a foster care center," Gomez recounted.
The only alternative they offered her was to move into her mother's house, the children's grandmother, but she is not willing to take the little ones into her home.
The owner of the property where they are supposedly supposed to move does not accept the children because they have never lived there nor are they registered as residents. Lawyers consulted by the father confirmed that the law supports the property owner's position: only registered children and residents have the right to reside in the property.
Faced with that dead-end situation, Gómez refuses to leave the occupied premises without being offered a concrete solution. "I will defend my children's rights," he said.
"If they haven't given me any reason where I am going to go. Where am I going with my children? I'm here because I don't have a home. I'm living here in these poor conditions because I have nowhere to be with my children," declared the Cuban father.
In September, a mother in Holguín was arrested for occupying an abandoned state property with her four minor children, under the offense of usurpation defined in Article 421 of the Penal Code, which stipulates penalties ranging from six months to two years in its basic form and from two to five years in aggravated circumstances.
The drama of Gómez reflects a housing crisis of alarming proportions. By the end of 2025, Havana recorded 185,348 properties in poor condition, of which 46,158 required major renovations, and approximately 1,000 buildings collapse each year in the city.
The national housing deficit exceeds 929,000 units, according to data acknowledged by the Cuban government itself.
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