A man identified as Osmidy Vera Ortega was arrested in the municipality of Calimete, province of Matanzas, accused of illegal slaughter of large livestock, according to the official Facebook profile Con Todos La Victoria.
The source specified that the authorities intercepted Vera Ortega while she was traveling in an animal-drawn vehicle.
At the time of the arrest, the man was carrying "a sack containing more than 100 pounds of beef."
During the arrest, the agents also seized a machete and the clothing he was wearing, which "had bloodstains", according to the same source.
The detainee has been placed at the disposal of the relevant judicial authorities, while investigations continue to determine if there are "possible links to illegal meat trading networks," according to the publication.
The official profile concluded its statement with its usual slogan: "In the face of crime, illegal activities, and social indiscipline, ZERO TOLERANCE!"
What people say: between condemnation and distrust
The publication of the official profile sparked a polarized debate in the comments, where the most frequently asked question was not whether the accused was guilty, but what will happen to the confiscated meat.
"For the police station, where else?" wrote one user. Another was more direct: "In the end, they confiscate it and the police eat it; let them keep stealing, it's the only way to get it."
Several comments pointed to the food crisis as a root cause: "Hunger does not justify crime, but it explains a lot" and "the law is very harsh on someone who kills a cow, but very lenient with those who are starving the country."
There were also voices that demanded punishment without leniency: “Twenty-five years behind bars, working and producing food for the people. He should pay for what he did.”
But even among those calling for a heavy-handed approach, the same suspicion emerged: "If it were a leader, nothing would happen"; "they should also investigate where all the confiscated meat goes."
"The real crime is that a Cuban cannot buy meat freely", summarized another comment, shifting the debate from the police incident to a critique of the system that gives rise to such events.
A pattern that repeats in Matanzas
The situation in Calimete is not an isolated incident. The province of Matanzas has seen a series of similar operations throughout 2026.
Last week, five men were arrested in Cárdenas while they were sacrificing three cattle in the La Marina Popular Council, resulting in the seizure of 202.5 kilograms of meat.
In May, another Cuban was captured in Pedro Betancourt with 33 pounds of meat and 35 liters of oil linked to a previous theft.
In April, a man was arrested in Perico accused of stealing and illegally sacrificing a calf; and in January, two individuals were detained in Matanzas with pounds of meat, bones, and entrails.
The figures behind the scenes are revealing: in 2024, the province recorded losses of 12,459 head of livestock due to theft and illegal slaughter, about 1,500 more than the previous year, according to data from Radio 26.
The sorrows and the unyielding reality
The current Cuban Penal Code, in effect since 2022 (Law 151/2022), establishes penalties of 4 to 10 years for the illegal slaughter of someone else's cattle, and 3 to 8 years for trafficking that meat. With aggravating factors, sentences can reach 15 or 20 years.
Despite this severity, the phenomenon does not recede. In 2024, a total of 1,615 people were sentenced for these crimes across the country, 78% of whom received sentences of up to 15 years.
The structural context partially explains the persistence of the problem: Cuba has lost more than 900,000 heads of cattle since 2019, and pork production plummeted by 93.2% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
The black market has become the only source of protein for many families.
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