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The Third Criminal Chamber of the Provincial Popular Court of Holguín sentenced a resident of the municipality of Cueto to eight years in prison, identified as the main drug dealer in that area, during an "exemplary" oral trial held this month as part of Case 86 of 2025.
The events were investigated under the case file known as case "Ghost", opened on January 14, 2025, by the National Anti-Drug Directorate of the territory, indicated a statement from the court.
According to the judicial instance, the accused, "without legal authorization to do so, had been involved for some time in the illegal drug trade in the municipality of Cueto," which led to ongoing surveillance by anti-drug agents.
Officials from the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) in Cueto conducted a home search at the residence of the defendant's mother. There, hidden between the fence and the right wall of the property, they found a white bottle of Tramadol containing seven nylon wrappers, "in the form of mouthfuls or bonbons," with six grams of "green-brown plant material with seeds" of the species Cannabis Sativa L. ssp. Indica —commonly known as marijuana. They also seized a capsule of the controlled medication Tramadol weighing 0.66 grams.
The court sanctioned the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime of drug trafficking, classified under article 235.1 a) of Law 151 of 2022 of the current Penal Code, with the aggravating factor of recidivism provided for in article 82.1.3 a). In addition to the eight years of imprisonment, ancillary penalties of deprivation of rights and prohibition from leaving the national territory were imposed, both for the same duration.
The authorities did not reveal the identity of the accused.
The trial was conducted in accordance with Circular 206 of 2003 from the president of the People's Supreme Court, which regulates exemplary processes. These trials are held in the presence of the public and media, with the declared purpose of dissuading the citizenry through the publicity of the process and the severity of the sentences.
The official statement from the Provincial Court of Holguín assured that the judicial proceeding was conducted in accordance with the accused's "legal and procedural guarantees established in the current criminal and procedural legislation in Cuba."
This case is part of a heightened crackdown on drug trafficking that the regime has intensified in recent years, as drug sales and consumption in Cuba have surged to unprecedented levels.
At the beginning of this month, it was reported that the Provincial Court of Artemisa sentenced two Cubans to 15 years in prison for possessing just 1.74 grams of the synthetic cannabinoid 5-fluoro ADB, in another trial also described as "exemplary." In September 2025, the same court in Holguín had convicted three individuals for drug trafficking and use: Ismael González Medina was sentenced to eight years, while Beatriz Reyes Mederos and Alexis Alberto Hernández Pupo received six years each.
Holguín ranks among the five Cuban provinces with the highest incidence of drug trafficking, alongside Havana, Camagüey, Granma, and Santiago de Cuba, according to official sources. During 2024, the Minint confiscated over a ton of drugs across the country, primarily cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and cannabinoids; furthermore, it interrupted 157 internal operations and sanctioned 1,157 individuals.
Despite the regime intensifying police operations and toughening criminal sentences—actions framed within its “zero tolerance” policy against drugs—both drug trafficking and consumption continue to increase in the country, demonstrating that the government's strategy has failed to halt the advance of narcotrafficking on the island.
A report published last January by the Cuban Observatory of Citizen Auditing (OCAC) pointed out, as one of its most significant findings, the accelerated expansion of drug-related crimes, especially in urban areas, and warned that this phenomenon could lead to more complex criminal networks. During 2025, the independent organization documented 437 incidents of production, sale, and consumption of narcotics, a figure that represents an increase of 115% compared to the previous year.
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