They Steal Cows From a Commander of the Revolution / Yaremis Flores

They Steal Cows From a Commander of the Revolution / Yaremis Flores
Cuban Legal Advisor, Translator: mlk, Yaremis Flores

Last Saturday, May 5, in the nighttime hours, at least three cows were
taken from a farm belonging to Commander Guillermo Garcia Frias, located
southeast of the capital. At dawn the next day, three patrol cars and
two Forensic Medicine vehicles were observed.

The non-commissioned officer Alexander Borrero, one of those charged
with the investigation, exclaimed, "The people do not learn, they dare
to steal from a Commander." The investigators took pictures and videos
of the place. They also gathered statements from some neighbors.

Although some farmers in the community have reported the theft of their
animals –a frequently-occurring crime in the area — the police have paid
no attention. "Last Monday, May 7, they took one of my horses; I told
the police unit, and I am still awaiting the investigation," said
Alfonso Chaviano, better known as Chichi, who added that a horse on the
island can reach a value greater than $1000 US.

The cooperative Fernando Garcia Rosales, with more than 400 hectares,
belongs to the National Company for the Protection of Flora and Fauna,
directed by Garcia Frias. Located in Murgas, a rural neighborhood of the
Municipality Boyeros, it counts on all kinds of resources. It is
dedicated to some crops, among them sugar cane and moringa, but its
basic work is cattle raising.

Osiris, one of the inhabitants of the place, who asked that his last
name not be published, spoke two months ago with Miguel Vale,
administrator of the farm. "He gave me a lift in his own Willy jeep,
identified himself, and bragged about his constant travels to Mexico and
Brazil for the purpose of buying heads of pure bred cattle."

Cuban citizens have no possibility of controlling the profitability or
lack thereof of the country's investments.Much less of deciding the fate
of this farm's production, when it operates with the approval of Fidel
Castro, the Cuban ex-leader, who visited the property last January.

In keeping with worldwide farming statistics,average cattle prices at
auction fluctuate above $1,300 US. According to the non-commissioned
officer Borrero, the head of cattle were pure-bred specimens and weighed
between 350 and 450 kilos. Up to now, they have not detained any suspect.

Translated by mlk

May 23 2012

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