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EThe Provincial People's Tribunal of Matanzas sentenced two men to 15 years in prison each, and a third man to 10 years, for robbery with violence in a public and oral trial held in an "exemplary" manner, amid the rising crime rate on the island.
The case, registered as Cause 10 of 2026, originated in the town of Máximo Gómez, in the municipality of Perico, where the three accused broke into a home to seize valuable goods, reported the local newspaper Girón on Facebook.
While being caught by one of the residents, they attacked him and caused him multiple bodily injuries.
The Prosecutor's Office had requested sentences of 10, 17, and 20 years of imprisonment respectively, based on the degree of responsibility of each defendant, in accordance with articles 34.1, 42.1, and 59.1 of the Cuban Penal Code.
The Court -which framed the trial within the Fifth National Exercise to Combat Crime- classified the events as robbery with violence or intimidation against people in an attempted degree and reduced the sentences compared to what was requested by the Prosecutor's Office: 15 years for two of the defendants and 10 years for the third, with accessory penalties of deprivation of rights and a migration ban.
In addition, all the convicted individuals must compensate the victim for the damages caused. The prosecution also requested specific compensation for the wife of the assaulted individual for the medical and transportation expenses arising from the injuries.
The event featured members of organizations from what is referred to as civil society within the community, in line with the public and deterrent nature that the regime imposes on these processes.
The trial is part of the Fifth National Exercise Against Crime and Corruption, launched last Monday from the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party via videoconference with provincial authorities from across the country.
Among the priorities of the exercise, the announcement was made regarding the conduct of around twenty "exemplary" trials across the national territory, with an emphasis on drug-related offenses and attacks on the electrical system, although it also includes common crimes such as violent theft.
Exemplary trials are a recurring tool of the Cuban judicial system to exert social control through criminal proceedings held publicly and extensively covered by official media. The regime employs them as a mechanism of deterrence in response to the rise of crime on the Island.
This practice has intensified in recent years. In the national exercise of December 2024, more than 3,300 arrests and trials were reported in less than a week, along with over 508,000 inspections and the temporary closure of 680 businesses across the country.
In March 2025, the regime promised new exemplary trials as part of a renewed offensive against crime, amid a sustained deterioration of public safety that the Cuban authorities themselves have acknowledged.
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