A Cuban resident in Mexico, identified as Roberto Carlos Balaguert Pérez, has sparked intense debate on social media after posting a video in which he challenges those who deny the existence of the Maceta Plan, the Rastrillo Plan, and home search orders without the commission of a crime. His testimony has triggered the memories of thousands of compatriots who claim to have suffered these practices for decades.
The recording, published on Facebook, has surpassed 4.4 million views and has gathered over 339,000 reactions, along with thousands of comments from Cubans sharing similar experiences they have lived on the island.
“Sir, is it false that there was a Plan Maceta? Sir, is it false that there was a Plan Rastrillo? Sir, is it false that they knocked on your door? And you, not knowing what was happening, opened it. And they said to you: ‘What’s going on, authority?’ ‘No, it’s a search warrant,’” expresses Balaguert Pérez with evident irony, in response to individuals —including several Mexicans, as he explains— who assure him that something like that could not have happened.
In his account, the Cuban describes how, during those inspections, the authorities searched homes and confiscated goods that they deemed incompatible with official income.
"If there were ten cases of soda in your house, they would confiscate them. And you would say, 'But why?' 'Hoarding.' 'And where did you buy them? How did you acquire the ten cases of soda?' Well, just wait, you were in business," he recounts.
As he explains, any sign of prosperity could make a person a target for the authorities.
"In Cuba, anyone who prospered even a little had to keep a low profile, walk down the street like a ghost, like a nuisance, because they would come after you and confiscate everything," he asserts.
The man claims that even buying a car, upgrading the home, or making expenditures deemed high was enough to raise suspicions about the source of the money.
The origin of the Plan Maceta
The confiscations popularly known as Plan Maceta found legal support in Decree-Law 149, enacted on May 4, 1994, which regulated the administrative confiscation of assets deemed the result of unjust enrichment.
Various subsequent legal analyses indicated that the preventive measures adopted by the Prosecutor's Office under that regulation virtually allowed for no legal recourse for those affected.
That same year, the first 15 confiscations were carried out, valued at 3.47 million pesos, while nearly 400 cases remained under investigation.
Before that, during the 1980s, the regime had launched the operation "Pitirre en el alambre," aimed at the Mercado Libre Campesino, which culminated in the closure of that marketing system in May 1986.
Thousands of Cubans share their experiences
The post quickly became a space for many Cubans to recall similar episodes.
One of the comments recounts what happened during the Special Period: "In 1995, a prosecutor showed up at my front door with two police officers and two neighbors as witnesses, and they took everything from me."
Another user claimed that decades later, confiscations were still occurring.
"In 2017, my truck, the livelihood of my family, was confiscated just for upgrading my work tool."
Particularly impactful was the testimony of a woman who claimed to have worked in the state warehouses where confiscated goods ended up.
"I worked in warehouses that housed products confiscated from alleged pot growers, and many things would go to waste there. The goal was to prevent people from thriving."
Another comment summarized the drama experienced by many families during those years.
"My family fell victim to the Plan Maceta. They only left the mattresses on the floor and a fan in the house because my grandmother begged the police to leave it, as my aunt was just a child."
A practice that many consider relevant today
The video also recalls that numerous people were imprisoned for possessing dollars and remained incarcerated even after the regime decriminalized the possession of foreign currency in August 1993, amid the crisis of the Special Period.
For many users, economic control practices did not disappear over the years.
In February 2026, a national operation against self-employed workers and private businesses resulted in 17,000 fines, 300 establishments shut down, and 93 confiscations, while in May the People's Supreme Court released new rulings related to the confiscation and seizure of property.
The virality of the video demonstrates that, more than three decades after the emergence of the Maceta Plan, the memory of those confiscations remains an open wound for many Cubans, who identify these policies as one of the main obstacles to the development of private initiative and economic progress on the island.
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