A scene from the Fast and Furious film saga was captured in Holguin, when Cuban Joel Hijuelos Batista grabbed the windshield of a car to prevent thieves from taking it away.
“Last minute, a video came to light of the man whose car had been stolen in Holguín, when he got out to buy onions, he was hooked to the windshield wiper for about 10 minutes. It looks like a scene from a movie, but it is not, it is the harsh reality of Cuba without freedom,” commented Twitter user Adrián González García, who uploaded a short 40-second snippet.
According to the Cuban Newspaper website, the man, a resident of the United States, had arrived in Cuba for a family visit and rented a car from a state agency to move around the country. However, he was the victim of the wave of robberies facing the nation, where the economic crisis has caused crime to proliferate.
The most striking thing about the case is that Hijuelos Batista risked his life to stop the theft of a vehicle that was not his, and for which at the time of renting it he is obliged to pay insurance, which precisely covers situations of this type.
In the Hollywood-style images, the Cuban’s feet are seen flapping in the air as he struggles with his hands and torso to cling to the windshield.
“In certain parts of the city I think they reached 80 km/h and on Los Álamos avenue they may have reached up to 100. In the beltway they must have reached between 120 and 140,” said the Cuban-American in statements to the local press after the event. event.
Regarding the maneuvers carried out by the thief to knock him down, the man said that he “stopped several times, braking, skidding and steering on both sides”; but the more he did it, he clung to the car’s windshield wipers to keep from falling.
The thief was chased by other cars and motorcycles. During the chase, the Cuban-American talked to the criminal to stop him with the promise that he would let him escape, but the negotiation did not take place.
Finally, Hijuelos Batista let go and fell on the road, where he was immediately helped by other Cubans who were following him. Subsequently, he went to the nearest police station to file the complaint.
The Cuban-American has injuries to his left knee, with swelling and pain, but an X-ray ruled out a fracture. Hours later, a source linked to the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) stated on social networks that the two assailants were captured in an area called Cabezuela, about seven km from the Calixto García municipality. Both were identified as Ramón Deris Blanco Almarales and Asnielkis Pérez Ávila.
