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A police operation in the southern outskirts of Guantánamo resulted in the arrest of a man who was transporting 120 liters of diesel on an electric tricycle, according to the official Facebook profile "Guantánamo and its Truth".
The detainee was carrying six plastic containers of 20 liters each, all filled with diesel, when he was intercepted near the generator group known as «Los Güiros», a key facility for the electric supply in that area of the city.
What they found inside the generator
The discovery was not limited to the fuel that the man was carrying in the tricycle.
Authorities extended their investigations inside the facility and the surrounding areas, where they found multiple containers and plastic bags filled with stored diesel.
The investigations are still ongoing.
The total amount of seized fuel and the identity of the detainee have not been disclosed, nor has the exact date of the arrest.
What people are saying: Distrust and division
The post generated a wide reaction on social media, characterized by distrust towards the official version and the perception that the detained individual is merely a minor link in a larger chain.
"That must be the receiver... almost certainly the original cat is inside the institution," wrote a user.
Another was more straightforward: “They caught the smallest one… they haven’t caught the big one.”
Several comments pointed to internal complicity: “Fuel always appears on the street… someone allows it” and “No one steals alone: there are bigger people behind it.”
One of the most shared summarized the general perception: "You grab the octopus by the head."
The division of opinions was also remarkable.
While some called for a tough approach, with opinions like "Life sentence" or "the people don't deserve this attitude," others contextualized the event in terms of precariousness:
"That's not a crime, that's survival... people are compelled by the situation."
A voice summed up what many think about selective impunity: "Justice should be equal for everyone, not just for the most vulnerable."
A pattern that repeats in Guantánamo
This case is not the first of its kind in the province.
At the beginning of this month, a network of seven individuals was dismantled in Guantánamo for stealing diesel from a 110 kV generator.
In that case, those involved filled the engines with water to conceal the shortage.
They caused damage exceeding 1,200 liters and distributed more than 50,000 Cuban pesos in at least one of the operations.
The phenomenon is not limited to Guantánamo either.
On June 8, the MININT stopped a tanker truck with 6,000 liters of stolen fuel oil, in Yaguajay, Sancti Spíritus, originating from oil wells in Ciego de Ávila.
The context: Diesel as a luxury commodity amid the blackout
The fuel diversion occurs at the worst possible time for the Cuban population.
On May 14, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged on state television that the country had exhausted its reserves: “We have absolutely no fuel oil, and absolutely no diesel.”
In that scenario, the liter of diesel on the black market is priced between 3,500 and 8,000 Cuban pesos, making its diversion a highly lucrative business.
CUPET publicly acknowledged that workers, custodians, brigade chiefs, and executives from the state entities themselves are involved in these thefts.
The Cuban Penal Code of 2022 categorizes sabotage of energy facilities with penalties ranging from seven to 30 years in prison, and in its most serious forms, it can lead to life imprisonment.
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