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The Third Criminal Chamber of the Provincial People's Court of Holguín sentenced a man to eight years in prison for , during an oral trial held on Wednesday, which was described by authorities as "exemplary."
An official notice released this Saturday by the People's Supreme Court indicated that the accused —whose identity was not disclosed— was tried under cause number 8 of 2026 for the crime of illicit drug trafficking, penalized under Article 235.1 a) of the current Penal Code.
According to the official version of events, the individual placed 11 small papers containing the synthetic cannabinoid MDMB-4en-PINACA —commonly referred to as "the chemical"— inside a glass jar and traveled to the municipality of Cueto in Holguín with the intention of selling them.
He was detained by agents of the Revolutionary National Police (PNR), who seized the illegal product.
The court stated that the accused, "for some time, had been involved in criminal activities related to illicit drugs, and with the clear intent of obtaining easy profits," decided to transport the substance for sale.
In addition to the eight years in prison, the court imposed additional penalties: deprivation of rights, prohibition on leaving the national territory, and confiscation of assets.
Both the defendant and the prosecution have the right to challenge the verdict through the appeal for cassation provided for in the Criminal Procedure Law, the statement noted.
The cannabinoid MDMB-4en-PINACA "causes visual and auditory hallucinations, vomiting, paranoia, euphoria, irregular heart rate, serious events such as acute intoxications, and can also result in death," the text warned. The substance is regulated under Schedule 2 of the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which Cuba is a signatory to.
This trial is part of the Fifth National Exercise for Crime Prevention and Confrontation, launched by the regime on May 18, immediately following a week of massive protests in at least 12 municipalities of Havana, with slogans such as "Power and food!" and "Down with the dictatorship!".
The regime's offensive, coordinated from the Central Committee of the Communist Party, included the holding of around 20 "exemplary" trials nationwide, with an emphasis on drug-related offenses and attacks on the electrical system.
This same week, the Provincial Court of Cienfuegos sentenced four men to between four and six years in prison for trafficking the same type of synthetic cannabinoid.
The consumption of these substances has alarmingly increased in Cuba: medical emergencies related to their use rose from 467 cases in 2024 to 886 in 2025, according to official data.
Experts from the Ministry of the Interior have also warned that a more lethal version of the "chemical" is circulating on the island, with possible adulterants such as fentanyl, formaldehyde, animal anesthetics, benzodiazepines, and phenobarbital.
So far in 2026, Cuban courts have handed down several severe sentences for similar offenses: in March, two individuals in Artemisa received 15 years in prison for just 1.74 grams of synthetic cannabinoid, and in April, a man in Holguín was sentenced to 14 years for marijuana cultivation.
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