Authorities detained several individuals in Santiago de Cuba for their alleged involvement in the receipt of stolen dielectric oil taken from transformers, including drivers and owners of private vehicles dedicated to passenger transport.
The information was shared by Héroes del Moncada, a spokesperson profile for the regime and aligned with the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), which stated that members of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), the Technical Investigations Department (DTI), and inspectors are participating in the investigations.
The post provides few concrete details about the detainees and is filled with slogans and propagandistic language, but it does offer some relevant elements regarding a practice that, as the profile itself acknowledges, has become common in recent months.
The text also adopts a warning tone towards those involved in these events, emphasizing their consequences and concluding with a call to report and not be "complicit" in such practices.
According to that version, during the investigations, the fuels used by private vehicles to transport passengers were analyzed, and mixtures of diesel with dielectric oil, diesel with fuel oil, and even fuel oil used as the sole fuel were detected.
The profile categorized those involved as "recipients of the product," although it did not provide information on how many were arrested, their identities, where the arrests took place, or what specific charges they face.
The extraction of dielectric oil primarily occurs in electrical transformers, where the liquid serves as insulation and cooling. When it is removed, the equipment can become inoperable, leading to prolonged power outages.
The regime's spokesperson maintained that these thefts harm the electrical system and ultimately affect both residential areas and state facilities, including hospitals, water pumping stations, and other services intended for the population.
It also warned of the danger for those who illegally handle transformers, a risk that has already had deadly consequences in Santiago de Cuba.
In April of this year, a man died and another suffered severe burns following an explosion while attempting to steal dielectric oil from a transformer bank in Songo La Maya. The two individuals involved were brothers, and authorities reported recovering 70 liters of the product nearby.
Months earlier, another death had been reported due to the same practice. In September 2025, a man lost his life while attempting to extract oil from a transformer on the Siboney Road after coming into contact with an energized part of the equipment, also leaving the La Fortaleza estate without electricity.
The relationship between stolen oil and private vehicles is not new either.
In December 2024, a man was arrested in Contramaestre for selling transformer oil stolen from transformers to motorcycle riders and other vehicle operators, who allegedly used it as a lubricant.
Another serious incident occurred in November of that year when the theft of 300 liters of dielectric oil left the Dos Caminos community in the municipality of San Luis without electricity, causing a malfunction in the area's electrical infrastructure.
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