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Specialized investigative forces dismantled a gang dedicated to car theft this weekend in the province of Cienfuegos, according to a report from the Facebook profile "Las Cosas de Fernanda", identified as an informal spokesperson for the MININT on social media.
According to the publication, the vehicles were stolen by an individual identified as "Javier Legrat" and deposited at the home of "Yoel Pérez", in the area of Alcalde Mayor, Yaguaramas popular council, a rural zone in the municipality of Rodas, in the south of the province.
From that residence, the stolen cars were transported to other locations and eventually sold on the black market, according to the same source.
"The investigations are ongoing, and the criminal network is being dismantled step by step," noted the regime's spokesperson, who framed the operation as a "victory for the specialized forces."
The profile "Las Cosas de Fernanda" operates as a propaganda channel aligned with the official narrative of the Cuban regime, publishing content that legitimizes the actions of the security forces without questioning the structural causes of crime.
In January 2026, this same profile promoted the deployment of police at banks in Cienfuegos to organize lines of retirees, presenting it as a gesture of "protection" for the elderly.
The publication outlined the penalties applicable under the Cuban Penal Code: the actual perpetrators of car theft can face up to 15 years of imprisonment if continuity of the crime or conspiracy to commit a crime is proven.
Accomplices and concealment agents, such as in the case of Yoel Pérez, may face prison sentences ranging from three to ten years, while those involved in the transportation and sale of vehicles face penalties of two to eight years.
Vehicle theft in Cuba has worsened in the context of the economic crisis in recent years.
The scarcity of fuel, the devaluation of the Cuban peso, and the expansion of the black market have created favorable conditions for criminal networks that steal, transport, and resell vehicles between provinces.
The provincial newspaper 5 de Septiembre reported in October 2025 that vehicles of self-employed workers in Cienfuegos were operating almost entirely with fuel from the black market, due to the shortage of state supply.
Similar cases were reported in other provinces: in October 2025, a gang dedicated to vehicle theft was dismantled in Pinar del Río, and in Artemisa, the group known as "La Banda de la Yuca" was apprehended, which targeted state trucks, indicating a national pattern.
Despite the triumphant tone of the official publication, the text itself implicitly acknowledges that the operation does not address the underlying issue: "Justice does not end with the capture, but with the transformation of the conditions that generate this type of crime," concludes the profile of MININT, without mentioning that these conditions are a direct result of 67 years of communist dictatorship.
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