14ymedio, Havana July 31, 2023 — The news spread like wildfire this Sunday first on social media: the car in which Ramiro Valdés, Cuba’s deputy prime minister, was traveling had collided with a motorist at the intersection of Paseo avenue and 23rd street, in El Vedado Havana. The image of the senior official, between a luxurious Mercedes Benz car and a motorcycle that was being inspected by an agent, taken from another car, went viral. Shortly after, it was published by the pro-government Página de Mauro Torres, which reported on the events, praising the attitude of the high-ranking official.
According to a post on this Facebook wall, the incident occurred at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Based on “witnesses to the event,” the driver of the electric motorcycle “did not notice the signs of the police officer and it was then that the car in which Commander Ramiro was traveling was impacted.”
A resident of the place corroborates this version to 14ymedio, with an additional detail: “What happened was that the traffic light at 23rd and Paseo was green and the motorcyclist did not see the policeman who was stopping traffic on that street.”
The deputy prime minister’s caravan was going along Paseo, the same source refers, in the direction of the Plaza de la Revolución, where the Council of State and various ministries are located. For this very reason, it is a route frequently used by high-ranking officials –and, also for this reason, one of the best maintained in the capital – to go to the seat of Government from exclusive neighborhoods such as Miramar and Siboney.
It is usual, when a procession of these characteristics passes, for the Police to cut off traffic in the adjacent streets, but not for an accident of this type to occur.
La facebook page of Mauro Torres ponders that “in an act of deep shock and concern for the injured person,” Valdés rushed to help the motorcyclist, who was injured with a fissure in the fibula.
“Everyone saw that, the man got out of the car and participated with his escort in helping the one on the motorcycle. There was another person who also helped to put him in a vehicle that would take him to the Calixto García Hospital,” says the same page citing a resident of the area.
The post also includes statements by a nurse from the same hospital, who assured that “the injured man apologized while he was being treated, but the policeman who was with him told him not to worry, to be calm.”
“You can be the greatest Hero in the world, that if the life of a human being is in danger, the most logical thing is to look after his health, and the Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés did it,” concludes the official page, in an educational and bombastic tone. “In Cuba, lessons in humanity are given every day. In other parts of the world, I don’t know if a leader of any country, faced with an event like this, has the courage to do the same.”
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
