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The People's Municipal Court of Santiago de Cuba sentenced prison terms ranging from six months to two and a half years to nine defendants for committing thefts during the passage of Hurricane Melissa through the eastern region in October.
In cases 159, 160, and 161 of 2025, the court processed three exemplary trials for theft of food, appliances, and beverages in the capital of Santiago de Cuba, according to information published by the state-run newspaper Sierra Maestra.
In the first trial, six citizens were found guilty of an attempted theft and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to nine months of deprivation of liberty.
The accused were discovered in the early hours of October 29, after breaking into La Molinera Fábrica Frank País García, taking advantage of the collapse of an exterior wall, and stealing 111.2 kilograms of wheat flour sweepings for animal feed. Officers from the Special Brigade guarding the facility apprehended them.
On the same day, shortly before 8:00 a.m., two individuals stole a double display refrigerator and two coolers at the Alegrémonos tent, located at the corner of Enramadas and Peralejo, "under circumstances that have not been determined," the report stated.
Police agents caught one of them while he was transporting the refrigerator, along with unidentified individuals, on Avenida Paseo José Martí and La Línea. Meanwhile, the refrigerators were seized at the home of the other accused.
The court found both of them guilty of theft, and sentenced one to two years and six months in prison and the other to two years.
In the third trial, the court imposed a sentence of two years in prison on the defendant for theft, for stealing from the UEB 705 Aurora Warehouse, located on Refinery Road, kilometer 2, on the same day of October 29, before 10 in the morning.
The subject appropriated eight sealed boxes of Parranda beer and 22 sealed bottles of Parranda beer, belonging to the company PROCOVAR S.R.L., under "undetermined circumstances," according to the source.
In all three cases, aggravating factors were applied, as outlined in article 80.1, subsection d, of the Penal Code, which increases the penalties for those who commit crimes during disasters, when there is an imminent danger of their occurrence or when taking advantage of public calamities.
The newspaper Sierra Maestra emphasized that the accused committed the crimes "amid an anguish that seemed endless, while the vast majority of Santiago residents were only thinking about saving their lives and those of their families" and labeled them "selfish and insensitive" because "they took advantage of the vulnerability of the moment and, without considering the harm they were causing, appropriated state and private resources for their own benefit."
The Municipal Court of Santiago de Cuba stated that there were no economic losses, as "all assets were returned to their owners and state entities".
The defendants were also subject to additional penalties of deprivation of rights and prohibition from leaving the national territory.
The Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Santiago de Cuba announced at the beginning of December the imminent holding of trials against citizens accused of committing “vandalistic acts” during and after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
The chief prosecutor in the province, Maritza Paredes Pera, reported that 15 criminal cases had been filed and that most of those involved were facing precautionary measures of provisional detention.
Paredes Pera stated that the accused allegedly stole tiles, electrical wiring, appliances, and food amid the devastation caused by the cyclone, which worsened the already critical economic situation in the country.
The official discourse of the Cuban regime insists that such actions "hinder recovery" and "complicate assistance to those affected"; however, it avoids acknowledging the structural causes of the shortage of basic products and the widespread poverty in the country, which have significantly impacted the increase in crimes such as theft in recent years.
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