Cuban Regime Targets Beggars and Those "Harassing" Tourists in Matanzas

The Cuban regime has initiated an institutional crackdown on homeless individuals, those labeled as "harassers" of tourists, and the employment of minors, according to a statement released by Matanzas' official government portal. Marieta Poey Zamora, the Governor of the province, has ordered the immediate formation of multisectoral groups in every municipality to combat what she described as "negative behaviors," including vagrancy, harassment of foreign visitors, and child labor exploitation in both the state and private sectors.

Governor Poey has urged authorities to identify, control, transport, and "reception" these individuals into temporary centers where they will receive food, hygiene, medical care, and cultural or sports activities. However, the governmental statements do not provide any figures on how many people might be affected or whether there will be any voluntary or legal processes for these interventions.

The ultimate goal, as emphasized by the governor, should be the social and family reintegration of those affected, with the possibility of offering state economic support to those who manage to return to their family environment. For individuals with mental disorders, she indicated that they should be placed in hospital facilities, including psychiatric hospitals.

Lázaro González Valera, the provincial head of Labor and Social Security, reminded that all these actions are "backed by laws and decrees" and referred to the legal document that classifies behaviors such as the systematic harassment of tourists or family abandonment as contraventions.

One of the most critical points of the announcement was the warning against employing minors under 17 years old, which is considered a severe violation, be it in state or private businesses. Activities mentioned include agricultural work, vehicle handling, cart driving, or street vending. Authorities warned that these cases will be harshly penalized.

The so-called Groups for Combating Negative Behaviors—local structures for surveillance and control—will operate "at full capacity" in each district to investigate and penalize these situations, according to the governor.

Since mid-2024, the Cuban government has been intensifying its institutional narrative regarding the increasing presence of homeless individuals on the country's streets. For instance, in June, a state policy update was announced to address homeless people, emphasizing their forced relocation to social protection centers. This measure, driven by the Council of Ministers, reaffirmed the responsibility of local governments in preventing and controlling vagrancy, justifying the action as part of a response to the "behavioral instability" of those living on the street.

In March, the regime began shifting the blame for the beggary phenomenon to the citizens. The governmental discourse insisted that "wandering behavior" was due to addictions or poor family decisions, deliberately ignoring structural causes such as inflation, shortages, or the deterioration of the social system. Criticism pointed out that the regime used a social control approach rather than effective assistance.

Furthermore, the official press intensified its media campaign attributing the rise in beggars to "personal problems" like alcoholism, family abandonment, or mental disorders. Instead of acknowledging the structural crisis of the economic model, the regime preferred to highlight a narrative focused on individual failures. Recently, the government has attempted to present as achievements the "rescues" of beggars through street collection campaigns. Testimonials of people taken to shelters were exalted, while the coercive elements of the process were overlooked. The use of state media to legitimize this policy was perceived as an image-cleansing operation, rather than a sincere effort to address the root causes of marginalization.