Amid the growing shortage of powdered milk in Cuba, authorities reported the arrest of five individuals involved in the theft of 197 bags of this product, intended for children under two years old through the regulated family basket.
The theft occurred at a facility of the company En Frigo, located in East Havana. According to the investigation, the bags were transferred early in the morning to a private residence, an act that was captured by security cameras. It is estimated that the stolen milk was worth over $25,000 on the international market.
The main buyer of the product reportedly paid three million Cuban pesos for the merchandise and was reselling it in a café in the Boyeros municipality at a rate of 1,650 pesos per pound, aiming to achieve a profit exceeding 12 million pesos.
The stolen milk was located during joint operations by the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), successfully recovering more than 70% of the total amount taken, according to the head of the Investigative Technical Directorate (DTI), Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Jiménez, as reported to the National Television News (NTV).
Those involved face charges of theft and receipt of stolen goods and are currently in provisional detention while investigations continue. Among the detainees are workers from the refrigeration facility, machine room operators, and external receivers.
Disciplinary measures have also been applied, such as permanent separations from their positions, to other employees indirectly associated with the incident.
This case has sparked outrage among the population, particularly among mothers who have been reporting for years the inability to secure powdered milk for their children.
In several provinces, complaints have been reported regarding the irregular or nonexistent delivery of products intended for children, which has forced the State to provide nutritionally poor alternatives or simply leave beneficiaries without coverage.
The powdered milk crisis in Cuba is not an isolated phenomenon, but rather the result of an economic policy that keeps millions of Cubans earning salaries in Cuban pesos while essential goods are sold in foreign currency.
The rationing system, in place for over six decades, has failed to ensure an equitable and sufficient distribution of essential food items.
Cuban children under the age of seven should receive six bags of powdered milk monthly through the ration book. However, authorities have acknowledged that it is currently impossible to meet this delivery.
In Sancti Spíritus, for example, local officials reported that "there are no alternatives or substitutes for powdered milk" for those affected.
In response to shortages, emergency measures have been implemented, such as distributing liquid milk on alternate days and below nutritional needs. Children aged 1 to 2 years, for instance, receive only 917 ml per day.
In parallel, the price of a kilogram of powdered milk on the informal market can reach up to 2,000 Cuban pesos. Although the product is available in stores that accept freely convertible currency, its price in foreign currency is unaffordable for a significant portion of the population.
In light of the magnitude of the shortage, the Cuban government requested assistance from the UN World Food Programme for the first time to maintain the monthly distribution of one kilogram of milk to children under seven years old.
The theft of powdered milk and its subsequent illegal sale is not an isolated incident but a manifestation of the deep structural crisis plaguing the country: an outdated rationing system, corruption at all levels of the distribution chain, and an economy that marginalizes millions of Cubans who lack access to foreign currency, leaving them with no alternatives to properly feed their children.
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