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Four photovoltaic panels were recently stolen from the television and cellular communications site in La Alcaraza, located in the Calabaza Popular Council, municipality of Sagua de Tánamo, Holguín province, leaving four popular councils in the mountainous area of the Holguín Turquino Plan without television signal.
The incident was publicly reported on Facebook by Pablo Céspedes Molina, who ironically described those responsible as "honorable criminals" and warned about the impact of the theft on hard-to-reach communities.
The affected site was part of the first phase of a project by Empresa de Radio Cuba aimed at ensuring television and mobile phone coverage in the areas of the Turquino Plan, with the intention of expanding the installation to other locations in the region.
"This first stage of assembly was a step to maintain television and cell signal in the areas of the Turquino Plan, and then continue installing in other locations," wrote Céspedes Molina.
The theft not only disrupted service in the communities that were already connected, but it also jeopardizes the continuity of the project in other facilities of the Turquino Plan and Sagua de Tánamo, where there are cellular radio bases without permanent staff present.
"These criminals create an uncomfortable situation for the facilities of other communication sites in the Turquino Plan and Sagua de Tánamo with the cellular radio bases where there is no staff presence," warned the whistleblower.
Sagua de Tánamo has 85% of its territory within the Turquoise Plan, and 87.5% of its surface is mountainous, which makes its approximately 45,522 inhabitants especially vulnerable to any interruption in telecommunications.
This incident is part of a wave of solar panel thefts in Holguín that has intensified in 2026, driven by the severe energy crisis causing daily blackouts of more than twenty hours in some provinces, which significantly increases the value of this equipment in the black market.
On May 12th, four individuals assaulted and bound the security guard at the Oscar Lucero pumping station, also in Holguín, to steal 32 solar panels.
In Santiago de Cuba, thefts of telecommunications infrastructure in May and June 2026 left thousands of users without phone and internet service, with three nodes out of service on June 13 alone.
In response to the escalation, the regime classified these acts as sabotage through Ruling 475 of the Supreme People's Court, issued in May 2025, with penalties ranging from seven to 30 years in prison, life imprisonment, or the death penalty in severe cases.
However, the thefts continue, especially in remote facilities without permanent surveillance, such as the site of La Alcaraza.
The Cuban government reallocated 240 units from a Chinese donation of 5,000 photovoltaic systems to ETECSA to ensure services in 168 municipalities, reflecting the strategic importance that the regime places on maintaining telecommunications through solar energy amid the electrical collapse.
Céspedes Molina concluded his statement with a call for collective vigilance: "Once the photovoltaic systems are installed at the technological sites to ensure service continuity, it is also important to care for and protect them. The community is our best ally."
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