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A worker from the Hospital Provincial Saturnino Lora in Santiago de Cuba was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for the crimes of embezzlement and sabotage, after stealing over 5,700 liters of diesel fuel intended for the center's generators and contaminating the reserve tanks with water, which left patients connected to mechanical ventilators without electricity, according to a news release from the Provincial People's Court of that province.
The accused worked as a Specialist B in energy savings and rational use at the hospital and was the only person with control over the diesel fuel stored for the generators.
According to the court, the worker extracted a total of 5,742 liters of diesel from the tanks and sold it in the informal market.
To conceal the theft, he refueled the generators with the reserve fuel. When the shortage in that tank also became evident, he poured in a similar amount of water to disguise the level, contaminating the remaining fuel.
The consequence was serious: due to a disconnection from the National Electric System, the hospital's generators became inoperable due to contaminated fuel.
The failure affected the services of the Provincial Hospital and the Cardiocenter, and interrupted the treatment of five patients who were connected to mechanical ventilators in the Intensive Care Unit.
In addition, the protective and decanting filters of the equipment were blocked and broken.
The court particularly noted that the incidents occurred "in a highly complex energy scenario for the country" and that some of the affected patients were in critical condition and required mechanical ventilation.
The 12-year sentence was imposed collectively and uniquely, accompanied by additional penalties of deprivation of public rights and a prohibition on leaving the national territory, as well as civil liability payments.
The case is framed within the increased penalties for electrical sabotage promoted by the Cuban regime in response to the systematic theft of fuel at state facilities.
The Supreme People's Court issued Opinion 475 in May 2025, classifying any intentional damage to critical infrastructure, including the electrical system, as sabotage, with penalties that can reach up to 30 years, life imprisonment, or death in severe cases.
The theft of diesel intended for hospital generators has become a widespread problem in Cuba. In October 2025, state media revealed organized networks of fuel siphoning at facilities in Havana, where workers diverted diesel from the generators to sell it on the informal market.
The UN reported 96,000 pending surgeries in Cuba, including 11,000 for children, as a direct consequence of the energy collapse affecting the island after 67 years of communist dictatorship.
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