14ymedio, Havana, 30 September 2023 — The Cuban Elionorkis Sanamé Durán died on September 26 as a result of a beating by the Baracoa Police, Guantánamo, according to a complaint made public by Cubalex, which confirmed the information with sources from that locality.
A resident of the Joa district, Sanamé was detained by the Police “in the area of Puente de Miel, town of Cabacú, when he was transporting half a bag of powdered milk,” details a posting on Facebook . “They handcuffed him and took him to the PNR (National Revolutionary Police) station where, with the handcuffs on, he was sprayed with gas in the face and beaten by several officers.”
Cubalex adds that “several sources in the area stated that Sanamé’s screams could be heard from outside the station.” “He was transferred to the Octavio de la Concepción y de la Pedraja General Hospital, in Baracoa, where he died of a heart attack, according to the doctors’ findings.”
In its complaint, the organization clarifies that “in photos of the body published on Facebook by the independent journalist Yoel Acosta, injuries can be seen” on the man’s body.
“They handcuffed him and took him to the National Revolutionary Police station where, with handcuffs on, he was sprayed with gas in the face and beaten by several officers”
The émigré Ricardo Galbán, who runs the page “Baracoa People Denounce” page, details that several years ago the family of the deceased had had a dispute in court over “the injustices that are committed daily in that town.” Sanamé “was convicted and had only been on the street for 27 days, after serving his sentence, when they killed him.”
“The police murdered him handcuffed and the Baracoa coroner certified that it was a heart attack although he knows that he was beaten by the police. It was the police who killed him,” Galbán emphasizes.
Sanamé’s death is not an isolated event. After the Island-wide mass protests of 11 July 2021, episodes of police violence have been increasing. One of the most unfortunate and tragic cases was in Santa Clara, the murder of the young man Zinédine Zidane Batista Álvarez.
On July 1, Batista Álvarez was involved in a brawl over a property in the El Condado neighborhood. As a result of the police intervention, an agent immobilized the young man and finished him off with his pistol.
The father of the murdered man, Yosvany Batista, told 14ymedio that “the police did not try to calm the situation but instead intensified the violence.” The family tried, without results, to initiate legal proceedings against the officer who committed the murder, with license plate number 15388 and identity unknown.
It is not the only case, although it is one of the most serious, in which the impunity with which agents of the Ministry of the Interior act has been confirmed. Following the “combat order” issued by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on 11 July 2021, the officers, uniformed and dressed in civilian clothes, have beaten, arrested and harassed numerous citizens on the Island.
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