|
FROM
CUBA
Police target street vendors in raids
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, February 22 (Jorge
Ramón Castillo, ICD Press / www.cubanet.org)
- Police launches a series of raids at the
end of last week targeting street vendors
who typically sell foodstuffs in the main
thoroughfares of the city.
The raids, labeled "Operation Rake,"
seek to bring under control activities considered
illegal by the government, but which many
here call simply citizens trying to make
ends meet.
Last week's operations involved two trucks,
dozens of patrol cars and motorcycles and
a substantial number of officers who went
after push carts, confiscating tools, merchandise
and imposing fines that exceeded 1,000 pesos.
One vendor specializing in meat products
who worked the vicinity of the Agricultural
market said he lost 5,000 pesos, refrigeration
equipment, his utensils, and faces a 7,000
peso fine.
The word in the streets after the raids
was that the Office of the Conservator of
the city was a force behind the raids, since
the office's line is that the hodgepodge
of carts and people detract from the beauty
of the city.
The other force behind the raids is customarily
the Tax Office, who grants permits to those
who seek to work for themselves, or more
precisely, according to many here, refuses
to grant permits in most instances, precipitating
the wave of what the government later calls
illegals.
Versión
original en español
| 
