“Exemplary” Judgment: Nearly a year in prison for attempting to steal cables in Santiago de Cuba after Hurricane Melissa

The People's Municipal Court of Santiago de Cuba sentenced two men to nearly a year in prison for attempting to steal 95 meters of cable from the power lines, which were brought down by the wind during Hurricane Melissa's passage through the eastern region. 

In an "exemplary" trial corresponding to case 179 of 2025, the court sentenced 10 months of imprisonment to two citizens, aged 30 and 58, who were caught in the act while attempting to steal electrical wires, according to the judicial authority.

The individuals "took advantage of the emergency" and in order to "increase their wealth," arrived at an unspecified location in the city with tools to cut wires.

At the moment they attempted to cut them, they were surprised by a citizen who alerted officers patrolling the area. The police intervention prevented them from carrying out the theft, noted the official statement, as reported by the newspaper Sierra Maestra.

The court imposed a sentence of 10 months of deprivation of liberty for the attempted theft, as stipulated in Article 411.1 of the Penal Code, along with the additional penalties of deprivation of rights, prohibition from leaving the country, and confiscation of the tools used.

The judicial authority upheld its decision by stating that actions like this "slow down recovery after the natural disaster," which has a "direct impact on the well-being of the community."

According to the statement, during the handling of the case and the oral trial, the procedural guarantees and due process established in the Cuban Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Law were respected.

He also stated that the sanction was confirmed and execution proceeded, as both the sanctioned individuals and the Prosecutor's Office were in agreement with the court's ruling.

With the exemplary trials, the Cuban regime aims to send a deterrent message to society, indicating that certain behaviors will be harshly punished.

After the onslaught of Hurricane Melissa, while chaos and darkness still reigned in its wake across the eastern part of the country, the Electric Company of Santiago de Cuba reported the theft of cables and electrical materials in affected areas, a practice that -the entity asserted- further exacerbated the already slow recovery process.

He warned that “unscrupulous individuals” were attempting to appropriate fallen cables and exposed electrical lines, which would result in “a longer delay in the process of restoring electrical service.”

The devastating cyclone caused severe damage to the electrical infrastructure in the eastern provinces, with distribution lines, transformers, and fallen poles.