Police operation in Vedado ends with seizure of carts and food

A control operation carried out by the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) and the Comprehensive Supervision and Control Directorate (DISC) resulted in the seizure of four wheelbarrows and a significant amount of agricultural products in the vicinity of the market at 17 and K, in the Havana neighborhood of Vedado.

According to the official media Tribuna de La Habana, the action took place in the Rampa Popular Council, in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, as part of a so-called “popular control”.

During the operation, 10 fines, totaling 173,000 pesos, were imposed on vendors classified as “illegal resellers.”

Large food seizure in the midst of a crisis

Among the seized products are over a ton of food, including cabbage, tomato, taro, pepper, onion, green plantain, guava, avocado, papaya, lemon, potato, cucumber, carrot, pineapple, and sweet banana, among others. The authorities even specified the exact quantity in pounds and units for each product.

The seizure occurs amid a severe food crisis characterized by chronic shortages, high prices, and access difficulties for much of the population, which has increased the presence of informal vendors around state markets.

“Social” destination of seized products

Pedro Lizardo Garcés Escalona, president of the Rampa Popular Council, stated on his Facebook profile that the confiscated food was allocated to primary schools, a children's center, and the Family Attention System (SAF) of the area.

"The seized products were allocated to the primary schools Arturo Montori and Orlando Pantoja, to the children’s circle Soldaditos, and to the SAF 'El Rampeño'," wrote the official on the social network Facebook.

Controls and controversy

Although the authorities present these operations as actions to combat "illegality," neighbors and consumers often question that the confiscations further reduce the supply of food in areas where state provision is already insufficient.

For many, these measures strike both small vendors and buyers who rely on the informal market to access basic goods.

The operation in Vedado is part of a series of similar actions reported in Havana and other provinces, in a context where administrative repression coexists with a structural crisis in the production and distribution of food.