A butcher obtained a favorable court ruling against the Municipal Commerce Directorate, but nearly three years after a state entity damaged his home, the roof remains unrepaired. The fear of a collapse is growing.
The case was presented on Facebook by journalist Yuni Moliner (Yunielis Moliner Isasi). Although she works for official media, she has gained notoriety on social media for publishing reports on local issues that Cuban radio and television rarely address in depth.
Ignacio García Suárez lives at 290 Street number 7114, between 71 and 73, in Matanzas. The problem began in November 2023, when the state-run butcher shop El Lazo de Oro, which is adjacent to his house, started renovation works on its roof.
These construction works caused cracks and hollows in the party wall, deterioration in the wooden beams of the ceiling, and signs of moisture and leaks in the living room and dining room of Ignacio's house. The affected party filed a complaint, sought legal advice, and took the case to the Municipal People's Court of Matanzas, which conducted a judicial inspection with expert assistance.
"The outcome was favorable for Ignacio. The ruling states that the verified damages to his home were a result of the construction activities carried out at the butcher shop, and it orders the Municipal Directorate of Commerce of Matanzas to repair the damages incurred," Moliner reported.
The ruling, issued in 2025, compels the Municipal Directorate of Commerce to repair the affected roof. However, winning the case did not mean resolving the issue.
Months went by without anyone executing the ordered actions. In February 2026, a new deadline of 30 days was established for the repairs to be carried out. That period also expired without the legal requirements being met. The family then initiated a legal process through the criminal route, but uncertainty is now intertwined with the fear of a collapse.
"When the ceiling falls and kills him, there will be no solution," Ignacio summarized in a phrase that encapsulates the fear he has been living with for almost three years.
In February 2022, another woman from Matanzas with a similar situation came to light. She had been waiting for 14 years for the State to repair damages caused by the works of the Empresa de Acopio, which had perforated the wall of her home and diverted the drainage from an agricultural marketplace into her house.
In July 2026, a building partially collapsed in the historic center of the city of Matanzas, an area designated as a National Monument, where around 100 buildings show significant deterioration and 12% are at risk of irreversible destruction. Weeks later, reports emerged about the presence of three dangerous walls that remained un-demolished.
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