A man was arrested after swimming across the Bay of Gibara carrying beef.

A man was arrested in Gibara, Holguín, at the moment he was preparing to swim across the bay of that city to allegedly traffic in beef.

This was announced by the Facebook profile identified as 'Cazador-Cazado', linked to the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) of Holguín, in a post that recounted the events in a mocking tone and violated the presumption of innocence of the detainee, of whom it was not reported that he had been tried and convicted for the alleged criminal acts.

According to the official publication, the detained individual was identified as Francisco Leal, “better known in the neighborhood as Niñito,” who was suspected of theft and slaughtering livestock and was under surveillance.

"The farmers reported that this was not the first time; there had been other instances where he had killed the little animals that require so much effort to raise, and then the experienced swimmer would flee," the publication indicated.

Apparently, Leal intended to "transport a good amount of beef" and chose to do so by sea, swimming across the Bay of Gibara "while pretending to be conducting a deep-sea fishing."

"When you practice swimming and 'extreme sports' this happens: Just as he was heading up to the boardwalk, the authorities caught him. The saying that whoever is being watched doesn't escape applies here 100%. Watch out 'swimmers'!... Gibara is up to bat and the pond tilapia is definitely not their thing," sarcastically stated the social media profile linked to MININT.

The publication did not provide details about the amount of meat transported by the individual, nor its origin. It also made no mention of the summary of the police investigation, leaving the statement "that this was not the first time" in the realm of suspicion.

Amid the inflation affecting the country, by mid-June it was reported that pork remained above 1,100 pesos per pound in Havana.

In mid-May, the police in Havana captured several individuals in Guanabacoa who were allegedly engaged in the theft and slaughter of cattle, according to a report on social media by the pro-government Facebook profile 'Héroes de azul', which detailed that the slaughterers were caught just as they were transporting the meat in bags.

Around the same time, activist Aníbal Ferrand walked the streets of Baracoa, asking people when was the last time they ate beef, thus revealing the impact of the economic crisis on the food supply of the population in this city. Many people claimed they could barely remember what beef was like.

At the end of April, images shared on social media showed the sale of beef bones as if they were "meat" in Havana. The photos showed the nearly stripped bones inside plastic boxes that the seller placed on pallets.

In mid-March, the Cuban Anisleidis Parra Muñoz reported on social media the violent arrest of a relative of hers for alleged possession of beef.

The events took place inside the house and in front of several minors when the police from the municipality of Mella, in Santiago de Cuba, burst into their home and "beat her husband" and her underage stepson.

Like in the case of Leal, in Gibara, the Cuban authorities used social media to present their version of events, not from an official account, but from a profile associated with the Ministry of the Interior in Cuba.