An elderly woman in her eighties with no close family has become homeless and remains hospitalized, having nowhere to return after her home was occupied during a health-related hospital stay. Neighbors describe the situation while official sources from the City Council of La Laguna confirm that the National Police have taken action regarding the property. The residence sits on Arzobispo Elías Yanes Street, a route between San Benito and San Lázaro that connects Camino del Tornero with the North General Road. [Source: Ayuntamiento de La Laguna]
Local authorities indicate that the National Police have drafted the appropriate diligences and forwarded them to the court. The woman has been a user of the Home Help Service since 2022, though that service is currently paused because of her hospitalization. From the hospital, authorities were weighing whether to inform the Prosecutor about the situation, given that she did not meet the conditions to return to her home. Municipal Social Services report no record of family support for the resident. [Source: City Council statements; Local hospital communications]
Neighbors’ Astonishment
Reactions from residents range from disbelief to indignation. Some in the area suggest that beyond the act of occupation, charges such as unlawful entry or usurpation, and even burglary with force, could apply. They also highlight the ethical dimension of the case, since the person involved is an elderly individual who has no safe place to go and who owns only a few belongings. [Source: La Atalaya Neighborhood Association]
According to local voices, the events unfolded on February 8, taking advantage of the owner’s hospitalization. It was reportedly a daytime entry into a single-story terrera home, similar to those found in neighborhoods like San Benito, San Lázaro, Camino de La Villa, or El Coromoto. [Source: Neighborhood witnesses]
Neighbors also point to the occupants who are now inside the house and note that a sign from a security alarm company has been placed on the facade. They emphasize that the interior contained all of the affected person’s personal effects and that some items ended up in the trash. [Source: Community residents]
The neighborhood association La Atalaya, led by Justo Reyes, confirms the principal elements of this version and represents the nearby Camino del Tornero area, asserting its proximity to the occupied home. [Source: Association leadership]
This case is not seen as isolated. In recent days a residence next to the San Benito roundabout was boarded up, and elsewhere in the municipality similar episodes have occurred: in 2021 a house burned under comparable circumstances along the North highway near the airport roundabout, and at least one other property in the surroundings has faced several attempted occupations. [Source: Local police and neighborhood histories]
Other Zones
The pattern appears to repeat or even widen in other parts of the municipality, including Taco and Barrio Nuevo. Juan Luis Marín, president of the Barrio Nuevo-Viña Nava Association and head of the Aguere Federation, notes that as many as twenty cases could be counted in Barrio Nuevo alone. [Source: Barrio Nuevo-Viña Nava Association; Aguere Federation]
During a Housing Forum held in the previous administration, statements from La Laguna Local Police made it clear that officers frequently handle crimes of this nature. “There is more now than before,” they noted, adding that they intervene constantly. The police also stressed that these crimes often come with others, such as electricity fraud, igniting fires, creating waste issues, disturbing the neighborhood, or mistreatment. [Source: Local Police statements]