Cuban is arrested in Greece for theft of artworks from Cuban museum

A Cuban man has been arrested in Greece and charged with the theft of 71 artworks from the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana in February 2014, with intent to sell.

[For background on this story in Progreso Weekly, click here and here.]

The man, identified as Julio César Serrano Barreiro, 36, was arrested Monday (Nov. 23) in Koropi, Greece, southeast of Athens, by agents of the security division of the Department of Heritage and Antiquities of Attica.

The arrest came as a result of a worldwide Red Alert issued by Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, at the request of the Cuban government.

Serrano lived at the home of a 40-year-old Greek, reportedly his brother-in-law, who also was arrested on charges of illegal possession of a revolver and 55 rounds of ammunition.

No further details of the actual arrest of both men were released by the authorities. The first reports did not say whether any of the works of art were in Serrano’s possession or how Serrano was associated with the Cuban museum.

Other people appear to be involved. Some news reports say that Serrano and three other people, not yet identified, broke into a museum storeroom and stole 71 artworks, maybe 90.

According to a police source, Serrano arrived in Koropi in 2014 and applied for political asylum in February of this year. Asylum was granted to him two months ago, in September, before the authorities identified him as a suspect in the art heist.

Several published accounts say that the arrest was the result of an informer’s report to Greek police earlier this month that a Cuban living in Koropi was “acting suspiciously and was engaged in the trade of antiquities.” Serrano was then placed under police surveillance and arrested.

State prosecutors have already begun proceedings for his repatriation to Cuba.