Authorities arrest and fine two truck drivers who were selling farm products in Old Havana

Two trucks with farm products were intercepted by authorities in the Cuban capital when they were preparing to sell their merchandise on the streets ofOld Havana.

According to thesocial networks of the Council of Administration of that municipality, the authorities stopped the sale because it was taking place in an unauthorized area and proceeded to confiscate the cargo, which was sold "at prices affordable to the population."

“The confrontation with social indiscipline became evident once again in the municipality of Old Havana where the actions of members of the Ministry of the Interior, Transportation, the Municipal Inspection Directorate, plus the cooperation of Security and Protection, together with the Vice Mayor of Control and Inspection, they stopped two trucks with farm products parked in an unauthorized place, causing traffic closures and damage to the networks,” indicated the Municipal Administration Council (CAM) of Old Havana.

According to the organization, “the action took place after days of confronting with fines those who tried to circumvent the municipal authorities, who finally imposed order and discipline. "The agricultural products were sold to the population at affordable prices, in order to comply with what the Law establishes."

In mid-January,A resident of Old Havana was fined 5,000 Cuban pesos (CUP) for throwing debris on a street in the municipality. The action was celebrated on the social networks of the CAM of that municipality, in the context of theurgent garbage collection operation which was launched by the capital's government, after the fires started in the streets of Havana by residents fed up with the accumulation of waste and the inaction of the authorities.

In October 2022,Forklift drivers and pedicab drivers in Old Havana denounced the growing siege they suffered by inspectors from the Comprehensive Supervision Directorate (DIS) who - according to what they claimed - were indiscriminately increasing the imposition of fines on self-employed workers in collusion with the Police.

“How long are we going to allow these things in this country, with the situation so critical, with the big problems that these people have? "They are working to make this government fall because every day they irritate the people more," an elderly pedicab driver told Cubanet, who claimed to have been fined 500 pesos just for stopping for a few minutes to greet a person.

“The Police are also lending themselves to that, to support the inspectors who are coming here to give fines to people, people who have documents and who pay their taxes. “They don't respect anyone,” the same self-employed person complained.

In mid-September of last year,a police operation against forklift drivers selling agricultural products in Havana It ended with the imposition of fines on 42 of them, according to the capital's government.

Despite requests from citizens that require economic policy authorities to contribute to reducing inflation and the cost of living, actions like these are usually criticized by a large part of the population, who resorts to these informal sales in the face of growing scarcity. of food in the country.