A Cuban woman identified as Rolaisy Velázquez reported losing 168,000 pesos after purchasing several boxes of cigarettes at La Cuevita in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana. The boxes appeared to be sealed, but upon opening them, she discovered they were empty and filled with wool or cotton to simulate their weight.
The woman reported on Facebook that the purchase took place three days earlier and admitted that she made the mistake of not checking the merchandise at the time of the transaction.
"Three days ago, I was at the Cuevita fair and I was scammed out of 168,000 pesos with some cigarettes that turned out to be just empty boxes filled with wool," he recounted.
"Perhaps you are wondering why I didn't review it; it's true. But sometimes human beings think that we are all serious about business, and that's where the mistake lies," he added.
Velázquez explained that she is not a smoker and had bought the "Popular" brand cigarettes to resell and earn income to support her family.
"I am a woman who fights day by day to provide what my daughters need, struggling penny by penny," she expressed.
After losing an amount that represents several months of salary for many Cuban workers, since the minimum wage on the island is 3,210 Cuban pesos, a warning was issued to those who visit the popular market in Havana: "I only ask that when you are there, do not let your guard down because there are more shady characters than serious people."
Other Cubans claim to have suffered similar scams
The complaint prompted numerous comments from people who claimed to have been victims of similar scams in La Cuevita.
A user identified as Ávila Fernández reported that he lost 22,500 pesos after buying cartons of cigars which he opened immediately after payment and discovered they were filled with tobacco scraps and wool. Another person claimed that months ago he purchased cigars stuffed with banana leaves.
The testimonies also mentioned alleged scams involving other products: detergent bags with missing packages, adulterated oil, shampoo replaced with inferior soap, and hygiene product packages containing fewer units than advertised.
Even a seller who claimed to work at La Cuevita acknowledged in the comments that "there are many people who are shameless" and warned about the difficulty in identifying those responsible later: "You see them in one place today, and by tomorrow they are gone."
Other users questioned the lack of control by the authorities over the reported irregularities in the area. One of them directly accused inspectors and police of being aware of what was happening and not intervening.
It is not the first time that buyers have reported fraud of this kind at La Cuevita. In August 2025, the case of H. Upmann cigar boxes allegedly filled with sawdust came to light, and there were also reports of adulterated tubes of toothpaste. Years earlier, a Cuban woman claimed to have purchased supposed oil there that turned out to be a mix of water and vinegar.
The scarcity of cigarettes has turned the product into a particularly lucrative business within the informal market. Production problems due to a lack of raw materials and foreign currency have driven prices up, with packs reaching between 450 and 1,000 pesos.
For Velazquez, however, the blow cannot be reduced to a figure. The 168,000 pesos he lost were part of the money he was using to make a living and support his daughters.
"La Cuevita has become number one in scams and thefts; if you buy oil, coffee, and thousands of other things, everything is adulterated," summarized another user amidst the numerous reactions to the case.
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