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The province of Las Tunas inaugurated Cuba's first Provincial Drug Observatory this Friday, coinciding with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, while specialists revealed that consumption on the island has increased by more than 200% compared to the pre-pandemic period.
During the inaugural conference, Dr. Alejandro Mestre Barroso, a first-degree specialist in Toxicology, presented data that contrasts with the official narrative of a country that has minimized the drug problem for decades.
"In Cuba, the post-pandemic increase in consumption has been dramatic, with a rise of over 200% compared to the pre-pandemic period. In 2024, the National Center for Toxicology reported 600 cases, of which more than 90% involve synthetic drugs. This is just the tip of the iceberg," warned Mestre quoted by the official newspaper 26.
The tunero Observatory was created to fill a gap identified by the specialist within the National Drug Observatory, inaugurated on July 4, 2025, under the Ministry of Justice, and that the Cuban government announced as part of its declared war on drug trafficking: this national organization lacks a network at the sectorial territorial level, which is precisely where the problem is concentrated.
"The observatory did not emerge out of nowhere; it is the culmination of a process that began in December 2023, when a group from Tunas specialized in Toxicology at the National Center for Toxicology in Havana. For nearly 40 years, the province had not had a specialist in this field," explained the doctor.
The epidemiological characterization of Las Tunas reveals that the most prevalent drug is synthetic cannabinoids, primarily in its variant known as "papelito."
Between 2024 and 2025, there was an increase of 81.4% in cases, although specialists clarify that this figure partially reflects a higher demand for assistance and not necessarily a proportional increase in consumption.
The data regarding the profile of those affected dispels several myths. "The age group with the highest consumption is concentrated between 14 and 25 years, although there have been cases of patients who started using substances at the age of 8," noted Mestre Barroso.
A rise in female consumption is also detected, including addicted pregnant women, and the specialist emphasized that "almost 50% of families were functional, with clearly defined norms and university-educated parents," challenging the notion that addiction only occurs in dysfunctional environments.
The national context exacerbates the situation. At least 40 variants of synthetic cannabinoids are circulating in Cuba out of a total of 245 identified worldwide.
The Cuban Observatory of Citizen Audit documented a 115% increase in incidents of production, sale, and consumption of narcotics in 2025 compared to 2024.
Cases in Guantánamo, where the authorities confirmed consumption within schools, and in Cienfuegos, where a whole family was dismantled for trafficking synthetic cannabinoids impregnated in school notebook pages, illustrate the extent of the problem throughout the territory.
The new observatory in Tunas will operate with three work networks — early warning, research, and information — and plans to publish monthly, semiannual, and annual reports on an official website, allowing the public and the press to access updated information about a crisis that, according to the regime's own specialists, is just beginning to become visible.
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