Witnesses describe the excessive use of force by the ‘black berets’ in an operation targeting motorcycle races.
14ymedio, Madrid, October 13, 2026 – A police raid on the outskirts of El Rodeo recreational park in the city of Camagüey triggered a stampede of young motorcyclists this Saturday. Witnesses reported beatings, damage to their vehicles, confiscation of phones, and the excessive use of force by officers from the Ministry of the Interior’s Special Brigade—the feared black berets. Accounts of the incident were shared on social media by eyewitnesses.
Members of the community say that every Saturday, for at least two years, dozens of motorcyclists have gathered at El Rodeo to race. This weekend, the Police cornered them to break up the event with violence, deploying several patrol cars and police motorcycles, as can be seen in the images that were shared.
Witnesses say officers beat several young people, including women and minors. They also claim that the officers used their boots and batons to strike people and damage motorcycles, and even threw stones at those trying to escape. One account describes how four special forces officers beat a young man who was already on the ground.
“It was absolute chaos,” one attendee writes. “I saw a young woman who had been beaten and an officer, whose face I will never forget, who said that for them to take her to the hospital, she had to have her papers in order and a license.”
“I don’t understand why they would approve a place like this only to then carry out these kinds of hostile acts against speed enthusiasts”
The complainants also report that some people had their mobile phones taken away to prevent them from recording the beatings. According to the accounts, a gacela (vehicle made by the Russian company GAZ) transported the black berets to the area, and the officers got out “handing out blows.”
“We have already tried to file complaints about the harassment we have received from the authorities, although this has been the biggest incident,” wrote one of the young women present, a member of the motorcycling community. In her view, the real danger during these activities is “the unjustified excessive use of force by the officers.”
“Why attack young people who only want to pursue this activity respectfully in an area that was supposedly approved to better accommodate it?” the young woman asks. “I don’t understand why they would approve a place like this only to then carry out these kinds of hostile acts against the motorcyclists.”
Gatherings of motorcycle-racing enthusiasts are not exclusive to Camagüey. This newspaper has also documented similar nighttime gatherings in other provinces, such as Matanzas. Witnesses on social media say they are also common in Sancti Spíritus and Santa Clara.
“These races had been taking place inside the Agricultural Fairgrounds for a long time, and everyone said they were authorized because they were held within state facilities”
The legality of these activities is ambiguous: the Road Safety Code prohibits speed competitions on public roads, but the races at El Rodeo took place on a closed circuit inside a state-owned facility. According to one user, “These races had been taking place inside the Agricultural Fairgrounds for a long time, and everyone said they were authorized because they were held within state facilities.”
Several Camagüey residents complain on social media about the noise and danger posed by the motorcycle races, which apparently have not always been confined to the facilities inside El Rodeo. One person who says they have lived across from the park for years claims that on weekends “there is no way to live in peace” and that nearly every nearby home has “vulnerable cases” affected by the noise and music from the event. Another says they walk the streets every Saturday in fear because of the danger posed by the excessive speeds at which these motorcyclists race on public roads.
Some Camagüey residents also recalled the recent accident that led to the death of retired doctor Carmen Proenza Rodríguez last September. She was traveling as a passenger on a motorized bicycle when a red Honda motorcycle attempted to overtake her and struck her from behind. According to witnesses, the motorcyclist fled the scene, and the doctor died after spending three days in the hospital. Nothing confirms that the motorcyclist was a racing enthusiast, but the case has fueled residents’ criticism of these activities.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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