Youth gangs are silently expanding throughout Cuba, fueled by the economic crisis, poverty, and the trafficking of synthetic drugs, according to a report published this week by Diario de Cuba.

The phenomenon, which now encompasses almost all of Havana's neighborhoods, has gone from being a marginal problem to a structural threat that the regime is unable—and seems unwilling—to contain, the newspaper notes.

The most visible turning point was the massive brawl on June 8, 2024, outside the Finca de los Monos (Monkey Farm) in Havana's Cerro municipality, during an event organized by the Union of Young Communists.

The Havana government denied any deaths and reported only two injuries, although independent reports indicated at least six people were hurt.

Since then, the problem has only worsened, the report states. The Havana municipalities most affected are Arroyo Naranjo, Diez de Octubre, Cerro, Marianao, Guanabacoa, San Miguel del Padrón, and La Lisa.

In addition to the traditional gangs (El Diamante and Pacto de Sangre) new groups have emerged, such as 100pabajo, from Santos Suárez; Faceta del Mundo, from Cerro; and groups that originated directly in prisons: Obsorbo Fogo, Atá Perositan Nangorian, Justicha Allán, and Miki Pintao.

Prison gangs are considered the most dangerous because they are not confined to a single neighborhood: they cross provincial and even national borders and already have members outside the country.

Andy, 21, joined one of these gangs while serving time at the Guatao juvenile detention center. “All I can tell you is that I had to take a blood oath on a document; that is, they cut me so that the blood would fall onto the paper.” “They gave me a religious initiation and branded me with a tattoo to identify me,” he recounted.

“I got involved because of the guys in the gang. It’s very difficult to survive alone in prison without anyone to protect you,” he explained. And he warned: “Betrayal is punishable by death.”

A babalawo (priest) recently released from prison pointed out that these gangs invent initiation rituals inspired by religious practices that, in reality, contradict the spirit of groups like the Abakuá.

Yosvany, 19, is a member of 100pabajo. “Sometimes we meet in Santos Suárez Park and on the ‘waterless seawall’ to unload and, occasionally, snatch cell phones or whatever we can,” he told Diario de Cuba. He also admitted to selling “papelitos,” the street name for the chemical, the synthetic drug that is sweeping through Cuban youth from the age of 13 and 14.

In May 2025, young people wielding machetes engaged in a massive clash on San Rafael Boulevard in the heart of Havana, with many minors among the participants.

The figures confirm the accelerated deterioration. The Cuban Observatory of Citizen Auditing (OCAC) documented 2,833 verified crimes throughout 2025, a 115% increase compared to 2024 and a 337% increase compared to 2023. In the first half of that year, 1,319 crimes were recorded, equivalent to 7.3 crimes per day.

In July 2025, the regime toughened criminal laws regarding the trafficking of synthetic cannabinoids, with penalties that can reach life imprisonment or the death penalty. However, legal repression has not halted the expansion of distribution networks controlled by the gangs themselves.

As Diario de Cuba warned, "the phenomenon of gangs in Havana and other cities in the country is like an iceberg of which only a small part of the surface is currently visible. The bulk of the problem remains invisible and continues to grow slowly, driven by poverty and state inefficiency."