Police arrests Cuban suspected of stealing 71 artworks from Havana museum

Gazzetta team
Police arrests Cuban suspected of stealing 71 artworks from Havana museum
Greek police arrested on Wednesday a Cuban national suspected of perpetrating a heist involving 71 artworks from the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana last year.

Authorities believe the man, for who is wanted by Cuban authorities, intended to sell the artworks abroad. The paintings were stolen during a massive robbery in March 2014, when about 100 paintings disappeared from the museum’s storage. Following the theft, some of the artworks turned up in Miami and investigation started when an art dealer alerted the FBI.

The 36-year old man was located by the police’s Department of Heritage and Antiquities at the town of Koropi, in East Attica. He had been living in the house of a 40-year-old Greek man, who was also arrested for violating laws on gun possession, after police found a handgun in his house. Both suspects were led before the prosecutor.

Police also said the Cuban had requested asylum in Greece.