Cuban national fatally stabbed in broad daylight robbery

– residents say attackers struck during blackout as neighbourhood surveillance cameras were down

A 48-year-old Cuban national was stabbed to death on Saturday afternoon along Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, in what Police and residents believe was a calculated attack carried out during a brief power outage in the area. The victim has been identified as Ariel Betancourt Ramírez, who lived just a short distance from where he collapsed.
When this publication visited the scene, residents recalled hearing “a little fumbling” and unusual noises outside around 14:00h and thought it was horses. Before they could process what was happening, they looked out and saw Ramírez struggling with two men on bicycles. According to one neighbour, the attackers cornered him, and he tried desperately to fight them off.
“He was fighting back,” a resident recounted. Moments later, witnesses saw Ramírez clutch his chest, stumble, and collapse on the roadway as the two suspects rode off.
It was later confirmed that Ramírez sustained two stab wounds to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators also recovered a blood-stained knife from a nearby drain, believed to be the murder weapon.
CCTV footage from the National Command Centre, however, showed the two suspects riding past the victim before circling back and attacking him. The footage then captured them fleeing to the west, with one discarding the knife.
Residents told reporters that the attack appeared timed. They explained that around that period, the street is usually lonely, and on Saturday, the area was in the midst of a blackout.

Several surveillance cameras in the neighbourhood were down, creating what one resident described as “the perfect opportunity” for criminals.
Neighbours said Ramírez followed a strict daily routine. Each morning, he would walk out to drop his reputed wife off at work, and every afternoon, around the same time, he would leave home to pick her up from the area as a protective measure. Residents believe the bandits may have targeted him because he was reportedly wearing jewellery at the time.
The moments after the stabbing were described as chaotic and heart-breaking. One woman said when she ran outside, she found Ramírez still breathing but struggling for air.
“He was gasping… I saw him take his last four breaths,” she said. She immediately called 911 and the ambulance service but claimed she was placed on hold while precious minutes passed.
“I wanted to put him in a car and rush him to the hospital,” she explained, “but other residents told me not to touch him because the Police say you can make the injuries worse. So, all we could do was watch him trying to breathe. And then he just gasped and stopped. Imagine 911 put me on hold…they need to do better.”
The two suspects remain at large. Police have launched a manhunt and are canvassing the area for additional CCTV footage and witnesses. Meanwhile, residents say they are shaken by the brazenness of the attack and are calling for swift arrests.
“We don’t feel safe anymore,” one resident said. “If they could do something like this in broad daylight during blackout, just so… then none of us is safe.”
The body of Ariel Betancourt Ramírez is at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home as investigations continue.