CAMAGUEY, February 15 (Normando Hernández, CPIC / www.cubanet.org) -
Zorro is back after several weeks underground, and another steer from the
government's herd has been the subject of a midnight distribution among the
townspeople of Céspedes, Camagüey province.
"If Fidel Castro and his cronies eat beef, why can't the people and I
not do the same," read the note left behind by whoever slaughtered a cow
near the Yaguarama reservoir and then went door to door in the wee hours of
Tuesday, February 12, telling residents where the cow was so they could help
themselves.
A local dissident, Virgilio Mantilla, said Zorro has become a legend in the
area. "People in Yaguarama consider him a humanitarian person, since he has
never profited from the beef," said Mantilla. "I wish there were more
like him in Cuba."
The reason there may not be more like him is that Zorro is risking draconian
penalties if caught. The Cuban government treats illegal slaughter of a steer as
tantamount to treason or sabotage, and people commonly remark, only
half-jokingly, that those convicted of illegal slaughter have received longer
sentences than those convicted of murder.
Related story
"Zorro"
distributes beef to the poor / CPIC
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