Amanda Pérez, the 18-year-old whose disappearance in Bayamo mobilized the police forces in the province of Granma for days, was found alive this Tuesday. However, the outcome of the case took an unexpected turn: according to sources connected to the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), there was no kidnapping, but rather a simulation.
The platform "Get Informed with Aytana Alama" was the first to announce the closure of the case, citing sources from the MININT: "After hours of intense family distress and the mobilization of police forces in search of the young woman, the news of her location brought relief, but the outcome of the investigations took a shocking and outrageous turn: There was no kidnapping, but rather a simulation."
Amanda had disappeared between the night of October 29 and the early morning of October 30, according to various independent sources.
The last public reference placed it near the establishment known as "Las 24 Horas" in Bayamo.
The case was initially reported by the platform Nio Reporting a Crime, which revealed that the alleged captors demanded a ransom of 2,000 dollars from the family, contacted them through the young woman’s phone via calls lasting just a few seconds, and even made a video call as supposed proof of life.
On Monday, around 1:50 p.m., a significant police operation was launched in the Viviendas Campesinas neighborhood in Bayamo, involving agents from the National Revolutionary Police, special forces known as "black berets," and high-ranking officials from MININT, including an alleged lieutenant colonel.
During the searches at a residence in the neighborhood, authorities found items that allegedly belonged to Amanda: a motorized bicycle, a helmet, and some glasses.
In that initial phase, it was reported that two individuals linked to the investigation were arrested, although there was no official confirmation of their identities or criminal responsibility.
With the closure of the case, the number of detainees reached four, identified for their alleged involvement in the planning and execution of the scheme.
According to sources cited by "Entérate con Aytana Alama," "the evidence suggests that it was a self-kidnapping, a staged event that raised alarms among the authorities and kept the community on edge."
No official Cuban media covered the case during the days of the search nor issued a formal statement regarding the outcome, so the details of the conclusion of the self-kidnapping could not be independently verified.
The phenomenon of self-kidnapping—faking one's own abduction to extort money from family—is known in Latin America but is unusual in Cuba, where the government does not publish crime statistics and independent media coverage of crimes is limited.
The case highlights a serious institutional gap: Cuba lacks a public registry of missing persons and an equivalent early warning system to the Amber Alert, which means that situations like this rely almost entirely on social media to reach public opinion.
The Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas recorded 40 disappearances of women, girls, and boys during 2025, of which 26 were found alive, six were found dead, and eight remained missing at the end of that year.
Related videos:
Filed under: