Havana/The death of Agustín, a homeless man known in Cárdenas as Bin Ladenhas once again put the spotlight on the vulnerability of beggars in Cuba. An 18-year-old young man has been identified as the alleged perpetrator of the crime, after setting fire to Agustín while he was sleeping outdoors in the Fructuoso Rodríguez neighborhood. According to testimonies from several residents of the area, the suspect was arrested, although the authorities have not published a comprehensive official report about the event or the procedural status of the detainee.
The attack, reported on social networks by user Christian Arbolaez, occurred during the early hours of Thursday when the victim was sleeping on a bench near some kiosks. A young man managed to help him and transfer him first to a hospital in Cárdenas, from where he was referred, due to the severity of the burns, to the Faustino Pérez University Hospital, in the provincial capital, where finally passed away.
The crime occurs in a context where the presence of homeless people has become increasingly visible in all cities in the country. Although the Government avoids talking about homelessness and uses the bureaucratic term “people with wandering behavior”, even the official press has had to recognize the magnitude of the phenomenon. A report from the newspaper Workers revealed that between 2014 and 2023, 3,690 people in this situation were registered in Cuba, cared for by the social assistance system. The publication itself admitted that the figure does not reflect all those who survive by begging or scavenging, which points to significant under-reporting.
The specialists consulted already warned that the profile of the homeless is also changing. These are no longer just people with severe psychiatric disorders – a recurring explanation in institutional discourse – but rather citizens hit by economic deterioration, the breakdown of family networks, aging and the housing crisis.
“He didn’t mess with anyone,” repeat coincident testimonies
The contrast between reality and political discourse has been notable. In 2025, the then Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitówent so far as to publicly deny the existence of beggars in Cuba, insisting that the country takes care of all vulnerable people. Although the official was removed from her positions after the massive rejection that her statements generated, the situation of the homeless on the Island has only worsened.
In Cárdenas, residents of the Fructuoso Rodríguez neighborhood describe Agustín as a well-known figure in the neighborhood. “He didn’t mess with anyone,” coincident testimonies repeat. Precisely this profile – vulnerable, isolated or mentally deteriorated people – is the one that, according to several social workers, is most exposed to violence. The lack of lighting in some areas, the poor night security, the extreme deterioration of the economic situation and the consumption of drugs such as the chemist –especially among young people and adolescents– are factors that influence the increase in insecurity.
The case does not appear completely isolated within the national panorama nor is it limited to the risk that these people run on the streets. In recent years, attacks have been reported even within health institutions. In April 2025, a video about the physical abuse against patients committed by an employee of the Dr. Luis San Juan Pérez Provincial Psychiatric Hospital, of Santa Clara, forced the center’s authorities to fire him. Once again, social networks played a key role in the face of the silence of the official press and the lack of transparency of the institutional system.
The question that remains floating in Cárdenas is not only who set the fire that morning, but how many more Cubans are sleeping today without protection in the doorways of the province. And, above all, what new horrors will be seen in a country where the crisis is advancing rapidly, destroying respect for life in its wake.
