The detainees, in the same place where a few days ago they dismantled a camp of clandestine gold seekers, were seized with 300 pounds of beef.
14ymedio, Havana, 13 March 2025 — The police have been very busy in Villa Clara, and, after dismantling a camp of clandestine gold prospectors, this week they captured members of a gang of slaughterers. Three people operating on the outskirts of the city were arrested and 300 lbs of beef were seized.
Henry Omar Pérez, the journalist who reported the arrest – which has not been reported in the Vanguardia newspaper or on Santa Clara radio stations – welcomed the fact that the police are very active on the outskirts of Santa Clara and not just inside the city. In fact, the slaughterers sold meat in areas close to the Ring Road and the National Highway, two points surrounded by vegetation through which it is easy to sneak and hide any type of merchandise.
Pérez mentions the strategic importance of both positions, which connect Santa Clara with the neighboring municipalities of Camajuaní and Placetas. The police keep an eye on these points, and in fact it was on one of them – the Maleza road – where the mining camp was located.
According to the report, the slaughterers were part of a “dangerous criminal chain” that reportedly had contacts in the province’s countryside and in the livestock sector, which they had “hit hard.” They themselves were involved in the sale of the meat, taking advantage of the “accessibility” of the roads.
The spokesman stressed that the capture was possible thanks to help from local people.
Lieutenant Colonel Héctor de la Fe, Pérez’s main source, explained that the gang worked in a “structured” way and attributed the success of the operation to “the expertise of our forces.” The officer also stressed that the capture was possible thanks to “help” from local people. The police have in recent years encouraged Cubans to report things.
“This is an example of how partnership between the police and the community can achieve great results in the fight against crime,” said De la Fe. Once the locations were known, the operation was launched and the slaughterers found.
Perez urged people in Guajira to share all the information they can about this type of crime, to avoid “destabilizing livestock production” in a province that in 2022 topped the list of provinces with the most crimes of this type. At that time, 12,234 illegally slaughtered animals were registered in Villa Clara.
The number was significantly higher than Holguín, with 9,825, and Matanzas, with 8,150 cattle butchered in 2022. After ten months of inspections and raids, the Ministry of Agriculture last month gave an update on the number of cows left in Cuba: only 2,914,009, when ten years ago it was near to four million and, before 1959 – with a population of six million – there was almost one cow per person.
The fight against cattle rustlers became a state issue in 2024 and this year the problem shows no signs of being resolved in the short term. With several provinces unchecked, the number of registered illegalities amounted to 181,854.
The photos with multiple plastic bags, backpacks and sacks loaded with beef that Pérez published on Thursday show that, when it comes to cattle, slaughterers try to process and sell as much as possible as quickly as possible. On several occasions, criminals have also resorted to armed violence.
Pérez – who describes himself as a “communicator for the Onei (National Office of Statistics and Information)”, as well as a “follower of Martí and Fidel” – has emerged on the pro-government media scene in recent months after reporting on events involving the province’s agents. Through his description of the events, documented with photos and testimonies of officers, he has become a privileged spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior.
This “informative” function and apologist for the Ministry was carried out, until now, by the anonymous profile Fuerza del Pueblo, who has not published anything on its networks since last January.
Translated by GH
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