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Maricela Alonso Ojeda, former mayor of Puerto Padre in the province of Las Tunas, would be among those benefiting from the massive pardon recently announced by the Cuban regime, without having served even half of her seven-year sentence for embezzlement, according to a report on social media.
The Provincial People's Tribunal of Las Tunas sentenced her on March 26, 2025 as the perpetrator of embezzlement, after determining that she abused her administrative powers to appropriate state products intended for the population—including food and fuel—for her personal benefit.
Alongside her, Mario Quirino Infante Sosa, former administrator of the Palace of Pioneers in Puerto Padre, was sentenced to six years of imprisonment as a participant in the same acts: according to the ruling, Infante was responsible for seeking, transporting, and selling the diverted products. Both were also charged with influence peddling and bribery, although the final conviction was solely for embezzlement.
The pardon was presented by the regime as a humanitarian and sovereign gesture of solidarity in honor of Holy Week, although the measure excluded any of the more than 1,200 documented political prisoners on the island.
The activist Juan Aldana de la Torriente reported the case in a Facebook post that sparked outrage in Puerto Padre and on social media.
According to residents of the municipality, she was already corrupt when she was in Education, which exacerbates the perception of impunity regarding her early release.
"What is happening is a total disrespect to the people of Puerto Padre. After the mayor was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for serious irregularities related to the diversion of resources from the community, including food and even fuel, today she appears among those granted clemency. She did not even serve half of her sentence," wrote Aldana de la Torriente.
Regarding this type of situation, a leader of the Communist Party of Cuba in Las Tunas had previously warned that concerning the cases of corruption, everything will be addressed in due time, a promise that for many residents of the municipality has turned out to be empty.
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