Five men were caught in the act while illegally slaughtering three cattle in the La Marina Popular Council, on Obispo Final Street in the municipality of Cárdenas, province of Matanzas.
The detainees, identified as Lázaro Otoniel, Fernando, Yuniel, Ramiro, and Yunieskys, are being held at the Cárdenas police station after being arrested on the spot.
In the operation, the agents seized 202.5 kilograms of meat, three knives, a machete, and a cleaver.
The three slaughtered cattle belonged to local farmers, according to the official report of the operation.
The confiscated meat was handed over to the "José Paz Borroto" piggery to, according to the authorities, "ensure that it returns to the production circuit."
The case adds to a string of arrests for the same crime in Matanzas over the past few months.
In January, two men were arrested in that province with several pounds of beef, bones, and entrails related to illegal slaughter, and in April, a man was detained in Perico accused of stealing and illegally slaughtering a calf.
Matanzas is one of the provinces with the highest incidence of this crime in Cuba. According to data from Radio 26, in 2024 the province reported 12,459 heads of cattle lost due to theft and illegal slaughter, about 1,500 more than in 2023.
The legal framework faced by the five detainees is severe. Article 316 of the Penal Code in effect since 2022 (Law 151/2022) establishes penalties of four to ten years of imprisonment for anyone who slaughters someone else's large livestock, and three to eight years for anyone who traffics meat from illegally slaughtered livestock.
In 2024, more than 1,615 people were sanctioned in Cuba for offenses related to the illegal slaughter of livestock and the trafficking of meat, with 78% receiving sentences of up to 15 years.
The backdrop is a structural livestock crisis that has been steadily worsening.
Since 2019, Cuba has lost more than 900,000 head of cattle, according to official data from the Ministry of Agriculture released in July 2025, and by the end of 2024, the national herd stood at around three million animals, nearly 400,000 fewer than the previous year.
The shortage of animal feed, veterinary supplies, and forage, combined with the disillusionment of producers due to decades of failed agricultural policies, largely explains why the theft and illegal slaughter of cattle has become a widespread phenomenon across the island, despite ongoing crackdowns and increasingly severe penalties.
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