Cuban musician denounces attempted robbery and criticizes police inaction: "The patrol never arrived."

Cuban musician and composer Iván Leyva reported this Thursday that there was an attempt to steal the air conditioning cables from his building and that, when he called the police, the response was silence and complete inaction.

"I gave the exact address to the operator (who I had to practically drag an answer out of) and, of course, the patrol never arrived," Leyva wrote on Facebook.

"It is sad and alarming to see how the institutions responsible for ensuring citizen safety turn their backs on us. When the State fails to fulfill its basic duty of protection, the feeling of abandonment is complete," she said.

Leyva went further and pointed out the contradiction that, in his opinion, defines the Cuban police apparatus: "But when it comes to monitoring independent journalists and government dissenters, there are resources and a quick response. They dedicate time and effort to that."

Various Cubans also expressed their dismay at the police's inaction in the face of thefts. "I was robbed at my doorstep, I went to Aguilera, filed a report, and they never came. There is no police here; they are more like paramilitary groups structured solely to suppress dissent," recounted one Cuban.

Another commentator joked that if instead of reporting a theft, Leyva had denounced people writing slogans against the government, "in less than five minutes you would have Aguilera and Villa Marista right there." The reference to Villa Marista alludes to the headquarters of State Security in Havana, which is popularly associated with political repression.

This is not the first time Leyva has raised his voice about insecurity in Cuba. In September 2023, he had already confronted the regime demanding protection amid the rise in assaults in Havana and questioning whether citizens would have to "take justice into their own hands" for the authorities to take action. In May 2025, he was even more direct: "The police are no longer a friend of the people."

The Cuban Observatory of Citizen Audit recorded 90 homicides in the first half of 2026, a 42.9% increase compared to the same period the previous year, as well as 592 burglaries in residences during that same timeframe.

Cable thefts —electrical, telecommunications, and household equipment— have surged across the island, exacerbated by prolonged blackouts that leave areas in darkness. In Camagüey, the state telecommunications company ETECSA reported that over 2,000 meters of service cable were missing due to theft and vandalism.