A butcher obtained a favorable court ruling against the Municipal Department of Commerce, 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 state media, she has gained notoriety on social media for publishing complaints about local issues that Cuban radio and television rarely address in depth.
Ignacio G. S. lives in the city of 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 the roof.
These construction works caused cracks and voids in the partition wall, damage to 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 brought the case to the Municipal People's Court of Matanzas, which conducted a judicial inspection with expert assistance.
"The result was favorable to Ignacio. The ruling establishes that the verified damages in his home were the result of construction activities carried out at the butcher shop and 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 damaged roof. However, winning the lawsuit did not mean resolving the issue.
Months passed without anyone carrying out the orders. In February 2026, a new deadline of 30 days was set for the repairs to be made. That period also expired without the legal stipulations being met. The family then initiated a criminal process, but now uncertainty is mixed 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, the case of another resident of Matanzas with a similar situation came to light. The woman had been waiting for 14 years for the State to repair damages caused by the works of the Acopio Company, which perforated the wall of her home and redirected 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 are in a state of severe deterioration and 12% face the risk of irreversible destruction. Weeks later, the existence of three dangerous walls that remained undemolished was reported.
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