The police arrested two individuals in the municipality of Los Arabos, Matanzas, after catching them in the early morning on the street with a tank filled with dielectric oil, a hose, gloves, and a rope that was still dripping with the liquid.
According to the provincial Electric Union's report on Facebook, the individuals had removed the cover of a transformer in the Guachinango area and drained the oil before being intercepted.
The theft worsened the electrical situation for the residents of the area, who are already suffering from prolonged power outages.
Dielectric oil is essential for the insulation and cooling of transformers, so its removal can render the equipment out of service.
The entity noted that those affected not only endure the usual outages, but they are now also unable to make the most of the scarce periods when the service is operational.
In light of the incident, the Electric Union emphasized that it maintains a policy of "zero tolerance" towards crimes.
The case adds to a series of thefts of dielectric oil that have affected Matanzas this year.
Last week, a man was arrested in Unión de Reyes, accused by authorities of "sabotage" after stealing dielectric oil from a transformer at an electrical substation, an act that caused disruptions for the residents of the municipality.
The Electric Company reported that law enforcement recovered 30 liters of the stolen oil. The official account indicated that, upon noticing the police presence, the suspect spilled another 20 liters to prevent them from being confiscated.
In May, Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Domínguez Rodríguez, head of the Criminal Investigation Body of the MININT in the province, acknowledged an increase in the theft of dielectric oil from transformers.
According to the information provided, there were "around 40 people being processed in the municipalities of Calimete, Martí, Los Arabos, Perico, and Jovellanos, with more than 10 criminal networks involved, encompassing approximately 33 ongoing investigations."
Throughout the province, more than 90 transformers have been affected by this type of theft.
The officer explained the usual method of the thieves: "They take advantage of the power outages, look for isolated spots that lack security, climb the poles, drill into the transformers, and drain the oil into tanks that they then sell."
Motivation, according to Domínguez Rodríguez himself, is rarely driven by personal consumption: "Most of the time, those who take it do so not to meet a need, but to profit."
Dielectric oil is being resold on the black market as an alternative fuel for tractors and trucks, at prices ranging from 600 to over 1,000 Cuban pesos per liter, amid a widespread fuel shortage. When extracted, the transformer suffers a short circuit and becomes unusable, extending power outages beyond the scheduled cuts.
The phenomenon is not limited to Matanzas.
Days ago, a gang of six people was dismantled in Mayabeque for operating in Güines and Melena del Sur using the same scheme. In Holguín, a similar robbery left over 20,000 people without electricity.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged before the National Assembly in July that the volume of oil stolen was "almost similar" to the amount produced during that same period, and that some communities had been without electricity for up to 105 days due to transformer damage that could not be quickly replaced.
The authorities are applying Ruling 475/2025 from the Supreme People's Court, which classifies these acts as sabotage under Article 125 of the Penal Code, with penalties ranging from seven to 30 years in prison, life imprisonment, or the death penalty in aggravated cases.
The courts have already begun to issue sentences: in Ciego de Ávila, several defendants received sentences ranging from seven to 12 years; on Isla de la Juventud, a worker was sentenced to eight years; and in Artemisa, the prosecution requested 12 years for a man who stole 70 liters.
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