A homeless man identified as Ernesto Macías was assaulted on Friday night by a group of individuals while he was sleeping outside a school in Matanzas, Cuba. The attackers appeared to be attempting to rob him of any money he might have had.
The incident was reported on a Facebook group on Saturday, revealing that Macías had been staying for several days at the entrance of the Mártires del Goicuría school in the Versalles neighborhood. A post by user Maide Tápanes in the group "Todo de compra y venta en Matanzas" highlighted that Macías, who resides in the Cerro municipality of Havana, "is not entirely sound in mind and has been sitting day and night at that spot."
The post detailed how on Friday night, "passersby started beating him up just because they thought he might have some money." Fortunately, the school's security guard heard the commotion and intervened, preventing further harm.
Tápanes expressed concern that Macías's family might be searching for him or unaware of his whereabouts, urging the police and community authorities to assist him in returning home. She also encouraged her Facebook friends to share the information to help locate his family.
In the comments of the post, it was mentioned that Macías is usually seen around Cuatro Caminos in Cotorro, but he had not been spotted there recently. Another user provided a contact number and requested community assistance for Macías, who is well-known in his usual area.
According to data released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) in April, Cuba has seen a significant rise in homelessness, with 3,690 people reported homeless between 2014 and 2023. This number is a steep increase from the 1,100 reported in 2012, based on the last Population and Housing Census.
The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) has recently raised alarms about the growing number of people begging and scavenging in trash bins for food and other essentials. This week, a distressing scene unfolded in a park in Santiago de Cuba where children witnessed an elderly man eating from a garbage bin and shouted at him, "Don't eat trash!"
This incident underscores the severe social issues and the deteriorating human rights situation in Cuba, where the socialist regime's failures continue to push more citizens into desperate circumstances.