HAVANA, Cuba.- The national police threatened to evict to Cuban Yeiny Zamora Reyes, mother of five children, who in February 2023 occupied a house that was uninhabited and whose owner had died.
Last Monday, February 9, Zamora Reyes attended an alleged interview before investigator “Miriam” at the Zapata and C police station, where she was held with her two-year-old son from around eight o’clock until after seven at night, according to her complaint.
“When I arrived they told me that a man had made me a complaint “Because I had broken into her house and stolen everything inside, which is a complete lie,” the woman explained.
The interviewee explained to the police that she had been occupying the property for almost two years, which, she said, was known to all municipal authorities and contradicted the complaint filed against her.
Detained without food or water for her baby
Despite this, the woman was retained and locked up with her young son inside an office where she says she had no access to food or drinking water.
“I didn’t bring lunch or anything for the baby. I asked to give him water and they told me that mothers know they have to carry a bottle of water ‘so you should have brought it from home’,” she said.
She also said that after being held for almost 12 hours, the investigator informed her that she had 30 days to leave the property she was occupying or she would be forcibly evicted by the police.
“He told me: ‘If you don’t leave within 30 days, I’ll come and break down your door. I’ll leave with the kids and I don’t know if you’re going to rent a house or go under a bridge, because you know that house isn’t yours,'” Zamora Reyes said.
Meanwhile, the woman says that she broke into the house on February 17, 2023 because she was homeless with her five children. The house, she points out, had been uninhabited “for a very long time” because its owner had passed away.
Five months after living there, Zamora Reyes says, he saw a supposed cousin of the deceased owner claiming that the house was her property, but she did not show him any document to prove what she said.
“The one who came turns out to be the wife of the man who is accusing me now, to whom at that moment I said: ‘if you have the papers of the home I will give it to you even if I have to go under a bridge,’ but she turned her back and left, until now that they appear with this” she said.
Legal avenues
On the subject, CubaNet spoke with an official from the Municipal Housing Department of Plaza de la Revolución, who, on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, stated that no details were known about this case there.
“If there is a housing problem, we are the first ones who have to know, the police have to notify us what is happening and they can only act when we certify that it is the real owner,” said the source.
On the other hand, a lawyer consulted by this reporter reflected that the most prudent thing in this case is for Zamora Morales to hire a lawyer to investigate and defend her in case she has to appear before the courts.
“The lawyer she hires has the authority to go to the house and request a review of the property’s ownership to verify whether it is true that the man is the real owner. If he is the legal owner, then she must leave immediately,” he said.
