Of the 20 defendants, 18 will go to prison for between four and eight years and two were sentenced to correctional labor without confinement.
14ymedio, Havana, June 13, 2025 — The 20 defendants for the street fight that took place a year ago at the Finca de los Monos*, in the municipality of Cerro in Havana, received their sentences this Friday. In a statement from the Ministry of the Interior issued by official media, it was reported that 18 of them received between four and eight years’ imprisonment; one was punished with seven years of correctional work without internment and another with three years of the same penalty.
At the trial, which took place on Tuesday, they were accused of public disorder and illegal carrying and possession of weapons and explosives. According to Cubadebate, seven of the detainees had provisional detention, and two were tried for “committing other subsequent acts,” without the details. The remaining 11 are still at large.
With its usual pedagogical prose, the government emphasized that “the rights and guarantees of the accused” were respected, and that the trial sought to “contribute to the formation of awareness of respect for socialist legality, order, discipline, citizen peace and correct observance of social coexistence rules.”
They did not, however, disclose the identities or ages of the defendants
They did not, however, disclose the identities or ages of the defendants. The Prosecutor’s Office stated that investigations into other potential participants are “temporarily on hold, subject to reactivation if new evidence emerges.”
The facts for which they were tried happened on Saturday, June 8, 2024 and, at first, they were not very clear. Teenagers and young people were involved in the violent clash, and several were injured, according to the testimony collected at the time by 14ymedio from several people who were there. The clash took place mainly between members of gangs that exist in Havana, they reported.
According to one of the witnesses, “it all started by a stomp” at the concert of “repartero” music* celebrating the beginning of summer, which was finally suspended. “There was a little boy who was an initiate in the Santería religion, and he accidentally stepped on a gang member. He apologized, but the other was with a large group of bullies, who started the fight,” said the source.
Research on other potential participants is “temporarily on hold, subject to reactivation
Social media and messaging apps circulated videos showing groups of teenagers running in various directions in the middle of the blows, and some carried machetes and sticks. Immediately, photos of alleged deaths in the fights began to circulate, which were denied shortly after.
The absence of law enforcement officers was also evident during the fight, although in one of the videos that this newspaper could see, apparently recorded long after the fights began, it was possible to see a teenager inside a patrol car surrounded by dozens of young people.
The government released a report more than 24 hours later, denouncing the lies propagated by social networks. An official identified as Claudia Cancio said on Facebook, along with the tags #FakeNews and #FincaDeLosMonos, that “there are no deaths; investigations will be carried out and action will be taken, the authorities report.”
The Provincial Court of Havana considered as “aggravating factors” in the trial the place and circumstances of what happened: “a public activity with high attendance, including minors, where those involved acted with the intention of harming and imposing authority through violence.”
*The Monkey Farm was a former colonial mansion whose owners built a small refuge for exotic animals, including monkeys. It is now a recreational space for outside activities.
** A fusion of reggaeton, hip hop and dance music
Translated by Regina Anavy
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