Miami, United States. – A Canadian family made public an incident this week in March 2024 at a hotel in Cuba, in which a 16 -year -old teenager was allegedly attacked by an employee.
“This is not a bad food, late transfers, bad weather or anything like that, this is a serious criminal issue,” Greg Woolvett denouncedstepfather of the child, in statements to CTV News.
Woolvett, who lives in Burlington (Ontario) and has repeatedly traveled to Cuba with his wife and steps, said that the aggression occurred when the child approached an elevator in the resort where they stayed. “She pressed the button for the second floor and when the door opened, an employee of the hotel in service followed the elevator,” he explained.
According to the testimony of the complainant, the worker tried to kiss the teenager, touched her inappropriately and prevented him from leaving. “He took her by the arm and tried to drag her down a dark hall. At that time, she was terrified, but managed to escape, ”Woolvett explained.
The young woman managed to run down the stairs and return to her family’s room, where she narrated what happened. “She walked through the room with tears in her eyes and said: ‘I think I just got attacked,” Woolvett said.
The victim’s stepfather informed the hotel manager, but considered that the answer was insufficient. “He said: ‘We are not responsible for our employees,” he said.
The family also reported the incident to its tourist operator, Sunwing, and the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) of Cuba. However, they were informed that if they presented charges they should remain on the island for an indefinite period. Given this situation, they chose to return to Canada. The employee was fired and Sunwing offered to reimburse the part of the corresponding trip to the adolescent. However, Woolvett demanded the total return of the costs. “They said: ‘What do you want?’ I said: ‘I want my money back, everything, ”he said.
CTV News contacted Sunwing, whose spokesman declared: “We can confirm that Sunwing Vacations received a subsequent consultation of the trip on the incident in question. The health and safety of our clients is of the utmost importance during their trip and we sincerely regret the incident in the property of the hotel. ”
The company added that its customer relations team is in communication with the hotel on behalf of the family and that, because it is an active case, they cannot make more comments.
Woolvett said he decided to share his experience to alert other families. “If you are traveling anywhere in the Caribbean and have young daughters, you must definitely be alert,” he warned.
In May 2024, the Government of Canada He asked the country’s citizens They plan to visit Cuba “a high degree of caution.” According to the notice, Cuba faces “chronic and severe” shortage of foodbottled water, medical supplies, fuel and currency.
“The shortcomings are critical and affect a wide range of services,” said the Canadian government, who also warned about the difficulties of traveling through the island due to Fuel shortage That directly impacts public transport and taxis services, leaving tourists with few options to move.
The notice also indicated that “minor crime”, such as the theft of bags and wallets, is frequent, especially in busy areas such as tourist areas, markets, public buses, nightclubs and beaches, as well as in isolated areas.
Although violent crime incidents are not frequent, according to the Canadian government, assaults may occur, mainly during robberies or raids. In addition, the scam with credit cards and ATMs can occur, so caution is advised when using debit or credit cards and ensure of covering the keyboard when you enter your pin.
Likewise, the Government mentions the safety of women traveling alone, who could be subject to some kind of sexual harassment, and recalls that incidents of sexual assault against Canadian women have been reported, even in beach tourist complexes.
