Animal rights activist Yenney Caballero, residing in San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, questioned on Tuesday the severity of a traffic penalty of 12 points and 60 pesos that she received for driving in the wrong direction, an offense she admits to having committed while returning from taking care of her sick dog at a veterinary clinic.
According to what she reported on her Facebook account, she had left the motorcycle parked during the appointment and, when she resumed her ride, she traveled a short distance in the opposite direction to merge onto Quijote Street, in front of the Lajero Cinema-Theater.
It was then that an agent of the Revolutionary National Police, riding a patrol motorcycle, intercepted her and requested her identification.
The sanction, therefore, responded to a traffic violation that was indeed committed, although the activist focused her criticisms on the treatment she received during the intervention and what she considered an excessively harsh application of the penalty.
"The patrol car arrives with a scene right out of a Troy movie. The officer gets out and says 'documents.' I say 'good morning' because it’s polite to greet first... as if I were talking to a butcher, they respond with 'good.'" Caballero wrote.
"Without explanation or details, he just took the license, didn’t look at the other papers, and issued me a fine of 12 points, the harshest one," he added.
The infraction ticket (folio F 751450), visible in the images accompanying the publication, confirms the date, the category of moped, and the penalty corresponding to the first group of offenses classified as "very dangerous" according to Decree 287, which implements Law 109/2010 of the Cuban Road Safety Code.
The activist clarified that she does not question the infraction itself — she acknowledged having driven in the wrong direction — but rather the lack of proportionality and dialogue.
"What hurts me is that I am a decent person, coming from doing something good, I wasn't drunk, nor had I been with three people over me. Couldn't there have been a warning? A fine with fewer points?" she asked.
Cuban legislation itself provides for the possibility of the officer issuing a preventive warning without a fine or points when there is no real danger or intent, a power that was not exercised in this case.
Caballero emphasized the social value of his motorcycle: "You have fined a person who is an ambulance in this country. That motorcycle represents the salvation of thousands of animals."
Despite the indignation, Caballero announced that he will accept the penalty without any major conflicts: "I will pay the fine, no worries. God multiplies everything in blessing."
This is not the first time that this activist has faced adverse situations in her work. In June of this year, she suffered burns on her hand while cooking with charcoal to feed her rescued dogs during a prolonged blackout, and in August, she reported an attempted scam related to the purchase of liquefied gas.
In 2024, your complaint about the slaughter of dogs in Mayabeque to sell their meat led to the arrest of three men.
"Today you wear a uniform, tomorrow you are just a regular person, and how nice it is that they have a good opinion of you," Caballero concluded in her post, addressing the officer who sanctioned her.
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