They seize more than six tons of potatoes from MSMEs in Las Tunas

More ofsix tons of potatoes were seized from a MSME in the province of Las Tunas, as a result of an operation carried out by theMinistry of Interior (Minint), which alleged alleged illegality in the purchase invoices.

An operational unit of the repressive body detected the illegality of the invoices, which were presented by the MSME in an attempt to justify the purchase of potatoes made in the province of Artemisa, the official reported this Monday.Newspaper 26.

Minint Ender official Simón Gutiérrez said that, after reviewing the documentation of the alleged legal purchase, which did not justify the origin of the volume of the product,The seizure was carried out and an investigative process began..

According to the newspaper, the sanctioned MSME offered the potatoes to80 pesos a pound, a price not authorized by government regulatory entities.

The more than six tons of the tuber confiscated were destined to reinforce thepoor diet in health centers, including the Ernesto Guevara hospitals, the Mártires de Las Tunas pediatric hospital and the Clodomira Acosta psychiatric hospital; also to the Carlos Font Pupo nursing home, the Calixto Sarduy psycho-pedagogical medical center and the two homes for children without family protection, according to the note.

Newspaper 26 praised the work of the Minint, which supposedly ensures the legality and adequate prices of the products offered, considering ita way to improve the people's nutrition.

However, the report did not mention thatThis year there will be less potatoes for Cubans, including the inhabitants of the province of Las Tunas, as a consequence of theworsening of the economic crisis in the country.

Last Thursday, the official newspaperThe Artemiseño published statements by Miguel Sánchez García, general director of the Agricultural and Forestry Business Group (GEAF), who attributed the failure of potato production in Artemisa to the damage caused by theblackouts to irrigate crops in the province, one of the largest potato producers in the country.

The 280 hectares planted in Güira de Melena, San Antonio de los Baños and Alquízar could not be properly irrigated due to power outages caused by fuel shortages, the manager said, justifying the decrease in crop yield.

The situation has caused that in neighborhoods of Havana,people queue for hours to be able to take home the precious product.

“Hundreds of people wake up in the fields to buy potatoes. They have already delivered 60 shifts, it is 8 in the morning. Hunger and dad. It is Sunday, the continuity of the national burden,” he said inFacebook the photographerPedro Luis Garcia, who reported the incident the previous week.