14ymedio/Yucabyte, Havana, 22 May 2024 — El químico (the chemical), the fashionable synthetic drug in Havana, slowly takes over the Cuban underworld. The possibility that Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, El Cangrejo (The Crab), grandson and bodyguard of Raúl Castro, is the man behind its manufacture and traffic – in increasingly vast networks – was one of the rumors that circulated in April and that the collaborators of 14ymedio and Yucabyte registered on the Island.
The consumption of el químico among young people has left deplorable scenes, documented in several recordings on social networks. In several of them, symptoms of paranoia, dislocation and violence are noticeable in drugged people. Some have tried to injure themselves. A rumor insists that more than 20 young people are under medical surveillance in Havana for their addiction and – according to a health official who did not identify himself – there are no supplies to treat them.
The authorities have recognized that el químico is increasingly circulating on the Island, although they have not given details about its composition and have accused emigrants of being the ones who contribute to the entry of drugs into the country. The silence has generated the suspicion that some member of the upper elite, such as Rodríguez Castro, pulls the strings of its distribution or takes advantage of his position to import it from some allied country of the Island, such as China or Russia.
Several users say that El Cangrejo was alarmed by a police operation that dismantled several distribution sources of the “el químico”
Several users say that El Cangrejo was alarmed by a police operation that dismantled several distribution centers of el químicoin Jagüey Grande, Matanzas. According to a rumor, Rodríguez Castro was the owner of at least part of the network, whose merchandise was confiscated from two brothers who, allegedly, acted as his front men.
The erosion of the leadership of power on the Island and the tensions between the “historicos” and the new leaders has been another of the most frequent issues among the rumors of the week. Several users said in April that Ramiro Valdés was dying after suffering “convulsions and fainting” – although there was also talk of poisoning – during a political event. Valdés’s is one of the most “announced” deaths in recent months, even above that of Raúl Castro.
The latter did not lack a “death notice” in April, about which — a rumor alleged — Miguel Díaz-Canel received a call to leave a visit to San José de las Lajas, in Mayabeque, and “run” to Havana to plan Castro’s funeral. Despite his advanced age, the soldier has continued to appear on television, which appeases — at least for a few weeks — the rumors about his death.
One of the rumors that reached the most notoriety last month was the emigration of part of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero’s family
One of the rumors that reached the most notoriety last month was the emigration of the family of the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero. His ex-wife, a user points out, lives in the United States, while his son resides in Spain and manages a small luxury hotel in Havana. In addition, several independent media reported the arrival of two of his nieces in the United States.
The situation of poverty and shortages hit rock bottom when it was revealed that a clandestine factory in the La Güinera neighborhood, in Havana, had produced and sold packages of picadillo, made of minced dog meat. The bag was sold for 50 pesos, packaged with the El Cocinerito brand, and was supposed to be distributed in several private and state stores. The authorities initially stated that the information was false, but a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture ended up confirming that “unscrupulous people” had carried out the “killing of dogs” in Mayabeque, whose meat was turned into the picadillo.
As every month, there are recurring rumors about crime, violence and insecurity on the streets of the Island. Most denounce the disappearance of minors, assaults with knives – such as the stabbing of a rapist – the discovery of human remains in public places and the execution, by the people themselves, of thieves captured in the middle of the act. For posterity remained, in April, a symbol of the boredom of Cubans for these situations: a woman who unsuccessfully denounced her husband for machista violence sewed her mouth shut after being ignored by the Police.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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