The theft of dielectric oil from a transformer supplying the molecular medicine center in Santiago de Cuba left the facility without service, and it had a consequence that went beyond the damage to the electrical infrastructure: samples from a critically ill patient had to be transported to Granma for processing.
The incident was reported by the Electric Company of Santiago de Cuba in a statement warning about the impact that this type of crime can have on essential services, particularly on healthcare.
The theft occurred during the early hours of Wednesday. Hours later, when a critically ill patient needed urgent tests, the center was unable to process the samples due to the damage caused to the transformer.
The alternative was to send them to another province, an operation that involved fuel, resources, and, above all, a delay at a time when obtaining results quickly could be crucial for patient care.
"But there is something even more important: the time a patient loses when urgently needing a diagnosis," warned the Electric Company.
The entity explained that dielectric oil is essential for the insulation and cooling of transformers. Its extraction can render the equipment useless and directly affect the facilities that depend on that electrical supply.
"Essential services that depend on that supply are put at risk, and the lives of people are at stake," stated the release.
The problem is exacerbated by the difficulty of replacing the stolen materials. Cuba does not produce dielectric oil and relies on imports, meaning that each theft not only leads to service interruptions but also incurs an additional cost for an electrical system already battered by resource shortages and infrastructure deterioration.
An illegal operation that strikes at the electrical system
The theft of dielectric oil has become the crime that most impacts the electrical infrastructure in Cuba during 2026.
The extracted liquid often ends up in the black market, where it is used as a substitute for diesel for tractors and other agricultural machinery. A liter can sell for between 600 and over 1,000 Cuban pesos, a clandestine trade that has increased attacks on transformers amid the deep energy crisis the country is experiencing.
Santiago de Cuba has recorded several recent episodes.
On August 17, just three days before the incident that affected Molecular Medicine, the oil from two transformer banks in Carolina, San Luis municipality, was stolen.
Days earlier, the extraction of 300 liters in the same municipality had left about 17,000 people without electricity.
The gravity and frequency of these incidents have led the authorities to toughen the penal response. Recently, the People's Municipal Court of Contramaestre, also in Santiago de Cuba, sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for stealing 120 liters of dielectric oil from the Bungo la Venta substation.
The theft left over 2,000 people without electricity for 48 hours. The accused was arrested in the early morning while transporting the stolen oil and was found in possession of tools allegedly used to commit the crime.
Outrage and demands for increased oversight
The case of Molecular Medicine sparked outrage among numerous users who reacted to the statement from the Electric Company. Several called for increased monitoring of transformers and other vulnerable facilities, while others questioned the priorities of the police forces.
Among the criticisms, there were comments from citizens who contrasted the lack of protection for essential infrastructure with the resources allocated by the authorities to monitor and detain protesters or to pursue informal trade activities.
The reaction also reflects a concern that goes beyond the cost of a transformer: in a country subjected to prolonged blackouts and with a healthcare system marked by scarcity, a new electrical failure could end up affecting services that patients' health directly relies on.
The Cuban regime has responded to the rise in these crimes with a significant tightening of penalties. The from the Government Council of the People's Supreme Court established that certain transformer oil thefts may be prosecuted as sabotage against the National Electroenergetic System, under Article 125 of the Penal Code.
The penalties outlined range from seven to 15 years of imprisonment in their basic form and can be increased to 10 to 30 years, life imprisonment, and even the death penalty when the most serious circumstances specified by law are present.
However, the tightening of sentences has not succeeded in stopping the thefts.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged at the end of July that there are Cuban communities that have gone up to 105 consecutive days without electricity due to malfunctioning transformers and admitted that the theft of dielectric oil directly contributes to prolonging these outages.
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