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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 y su Verdad".
The detained individual was carrying six plastic containers, each holding 20 liters, all filled with diesel, when he was intercepted near the generator group known as “Los Güiros”, a key facility for electricity supply in that area of the city.
What they found inside the generator
The discovery was not limited to the fuel the man was carrying in the tricycle.
Authorities extended their investigations to the interior of the facility itself and the surrounding areas, where they located multiple containers and plastic bags filled with stored diesel.
The investigations remain 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 arrested individual would only be 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 direct: «They caught the smallest one… they haven't caught the large 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 catch an octopus by the head."
The division of opinions was also notable.
While some demanded a tough stance, with opinions like "life imprisonment" or "the people do not deserve this attitude," others contextualized the situation from the perspective of precariousness:
"That's not a crime, that's survival... people are compelled by the situation."
A voice summarized 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 good amid the blackout
The fuel diversion is happening 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 depleted its reserves: “We have absolutely no fuel oil, nor absolutely any 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 profitable business.
CUPET publicly acknowledged that workers, security personnel, brigade leaders, and executives from the state entities themselves are involved in these thefts.
The 2022 Cuban Penal Code classifies sabotage of energy facilities with penalties ranging from seven to 30 years in prison, potentially escalating to life imprisonment in its most severe forms.
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