A family from Las Tunas paid 50,000 Cuban pesos for a gas cylinder that turned out to be filled with water, in a scam that went viral this week after being reported in the Facebook group Revolico Buena Vista Las Tunas.
The husband purchased the cylinder for home delivery in search of an alternative for cooking due to the prolonged outages.
The seller arrived with a scale, weighed the small amount in front of the buyer, and everything seemed to be in order. For two weeks, the family used it moderately: just three meals and six coffees. Until the stove suddenly went out.
When moving the cylinder, the affected individual noticed that it was still heavy. The inspection revealed the trap: "It turned out to be a scam, and do you know what the pellet contained? Well, water, a huge amount. It seems that it only had a bit of gas at the top," she wrote in her public complaint.
The situation also put the family at risk. "My magnet stove could have backfired through the hose, and the barely lit flame could have returned and even exploded inside. I thank God that there were no major damages," warned the affected individual.
When she tried to contact the seller, another person answered the phone and claimed to have recently bought that line. "They have it all planned out," concluded the complainant, who ended her post with a warning: "Be very careful when buying gas on the street. These people have no scruples and don't care if people or children could die. All they care about is making money."
The comments on the post revealed that this case is not isolated. "This is the new way to scam people. I've already heard several people report the same thing," wrote a user.
Another one confirmed having fallen for the same trap with a cartridge purchased at an official gas station, not in the informal market. "I had the same experience with a cartridge that I bought at the gas station," she reported.
A commentator provided a practical tip for detecting fraud: "The next time you buy gas canisters, turn them upside down and open the valve. If water comes out, that's what you have." Others pointed out the helplessness of the victims: "The most curious thing about all these scam cases is that the police are not there to help the injured party; quite the opposite."
The case occurs in a context of extreme scarcity. In January 2026, the government indefinitely suspended the distribution of liquefied gas in the eastern provinces, including Las Tunas, due to a lack of supply.
That decision triggered the informal market, where the gas canisters began selling for between 24 and 50 dollars in June 2026, although in this case, the family paid even more.
The scam involving cylinders adulterated with water adds to other forms of fraud related to gas.
In June 2026, the identity of CUPET was impersonated to sell fake balitas through a fake website and WhatsApp channels. In May, CUPET also warned about another fraudulent website that offered liquefied gas at prices ranging from 30 to 110 dollars.
"God knows what sacrifices that man had to make to seek those 50,000 pesos," summarized a commentator, capturing the human dimension of the scam in a phrase that conveys the indignation of thousands of Cubans facing the same desperation.
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