The animal rights activist Yenney Caballero, residing in San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, reported this Tuesday that she received the most severe traffic penalty in the Cuban traffic code —12 points and 60 pesos— while returning from taking care of her sick dog at a veterinary clinic, in an incident that she herself recounted on her Facebook account.
According to his account, he left the motorcycle parked during the consultation and, upon resuming his ride, turned for a short distance in the opposite direction to merge onto Quijote Street, in front of the Cine-Teatro Lajero.
At that moment, she was stopped by an officer of the National Revolutionary Police on a patrol motorcycle, who asked for her documents without any greeting, checked only her identification card, and immediately imposed the maximum fine.
"The patrol car arrives with a vibe straight out of a Trojan movie. An officer gets out, asks for my documents, and I say good morning because it’s polite to greet first... as if I were talking to a butcher, he responds 'good'.", Caballero wrote. "Without any explanation or details, he just took my ID; he didn’t even look at the other papers, and then he fines me 12 points, the harshest penalty."
The offender's ticket (folio F 751450), visible in the images accompanying the publication, confirms the date, the category of moped, and the corresponding penalty for the first group of infractions 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 is that I'm a decent person, who was coming from doing something good; I wasn't drunk or with three people in the car. Couldn't there have been a warning? A fine with fewer points?", she asked.
Cuban legislation itself allows for the possibility that the officer may issue a preventive warning without a fine or points when there is no actual danger or intent, a power that was not exercised in this case.
Caballero emphasized the social value of his motorcycle: "You've fined a person who is an ambulance in this country. That motorcycle represents the salvation of thousands of animals."
The complaint also highlighted the selectivity of police control. The activist noted that on weekends, when the cultural square of San José de las Lajas is active, “drunks and underage individuals speed by, causing a disturbance” on the same street where she was fined, without facing any penalties.
Despite the outrage, Caballero announced that he will accept the penalty without further conflict: "I will pay the fine, it's fine. God multiplies everything in blessing."
It is not the first time this activist has faced adverse situations while carrying out 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 report 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 an ordinary person, and how nice it is for them to have a good opinion of you," Caballero concluded in her post, addressing the officer who sanctioned her.
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