Fidel Galván León, director of the Aqueduct and Sewerage company of Manicaragua, in Villa Clara, was arrested for corruption following complaints from residents in that municipality affected by the serious water crisis they have been experiencing for years.
The information was leaked in social media posts by residents of that town in central Cuba, who had repeatedly reported the illegal actions and abuses of the government official and other leaders, while the population faces persistent water shortages.
Fidel Galván, current director of the aqueduct in Manicaragua, was recently arrested for corruption related to the aqueduct. He is now at home. Neighbors reported him after seeing him using water tankers to fill up his swimming pool. This is not the first time he has done it, but it was the last, as the population is tired of such blatant behavior from the leaders in Manicaragua," a user posted on Facebook.
This information was corroborated by the profile of the regime "Fuerza del Pueblo," which reported the incident without identifying the detainee.
Quoting a source from the town of Mataguá, the page stated that the police arrested Galván for the crimes of "abuse of office, speculation, and hoarding."
Fuerza del Pueblo confirmed that the official of the regime "used, for personal benefit, water pipes to permanently supply his house, including a pool on his property" and added that, at the time of the arrest, "75 liters of diesel and 20 liters of gasoline were seized from him."
The official profile emphasized that "opportunism, shamelessness, and abuse of power are repudiated in all spheres of society, even more so in difficult times," and warned that "the law must be applied rigorously."
However, the report does not explain whether Galván will face other administrative measures and appear before the courts of justice for his crimes.
Just over a week ago, the Provincial Government of Villa Clara published a note about a visit by Governor Milaxy Yanet Sánchez Armas to the municipality of Manicaragua, where she "verified the tense situation regarding the water supply to the city and its surrounding communities."
In that tour was Galván, who is seen in photos showing the leader and her entourage the facilities of a pumping station.
Meanwhile, the critical situation in the towns of Manicaragua was becoming increasingly unsustainable.
According to another complaint on Facebook, the residents of Loma de Piedra in Manicaragua revealed that on May 31st, water trucks arrived in the town amid scarcity, but only for those who “obtain oil (...). This service can only be accessed by those who steal oil from workplaces or obtain it through corruption, as there is none available for the general population at the service station.”
The complaint from a profile named Héctor Tol Etón states that sick people went to the government asking for water and were told that "if they can get fuel, they can go to the aqueduct and get the service."
It was an insult to the neighborhood to receive the water pipes and not take a bucket of water. There, like in other places, there are sick people, children, and elderly disabled individuals," emphasized the note.
The distressing situation has led residents from various communities to dig holes and extract groundwater or take it from rivers in order to meet their domestic needs, even in places where wastewater is discharged, posing a significant health and safety risk to individuals.
What you see here are people looking for water in the river, as for over 1 month and a half, the only thing that reaches the houses of Manicaragua are excuses from the leaders. That river is located behind the Pre Reinaldo Urquiza and the sewage from the diversion of Jibacoa, Guamajal, and Esbu is dumped into it. Some people take this water to drink boiled, while others use it only for cleaning, washing, and bathing. It is a deplorable situation that we have reached," the same account denounced on Facebook.
The publication blames local leaders, including Galván, for this situation. It says, "This does not affect Madelaine, the head of government, nor Mileidi, the party secretary in Manicaragua, and much less the businessman Fidel, director of the Aqueduct, who benefits from the situation and was president of the council in Mataguá, the famous dry village."
The text reminds that this last location "has been in a water crisis for over two years," while warning: "Unfortunately, its inhabitants remain inert to excuses and prefer to carry water on their shoulders than to seek problems."
However, in 2022, the neighbors of the El Negrito neighborhood in Mataguá protested for several days due to the water service being suspended from the Aqueduct, following a repair on the pipeline that goes to Manicaragua.
Residents of Mataguá told CiberCuba that local leaders ignored their repeated complaints and always gave them the same response: "There is no solution." They also sent letters to the Central Committee and the State Council, from which they had also not received a response.
The inhabitants then placed their hope in changes in the local government, but judging by the current problems, the situation has not only not been resolved, but has worsened.
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