The traffic authorities of Las Tunas announced stricter measures against drivers of motorcycles and electric mopeds who circulate with loud music, participate in illegal races, or violate traffic regulations, including the seizure of the vehicle for those who do not pay the imposed fines.
José Enrique Collazo González, head of Traffic in the province, explained that electric scooters are the main focus of the operation, as their owners, mostly young people, have made technical modifications that produce "deafening noises that disturb pedestrians and neighbors in residential areas."
The sanctioned behaviors include riding with modified exhausts that produce loud noises, playing music at volumes that exceed the allowed decibels in urban areas, driving without a helmet, transporting three people on the same motorcycle, participating in illegal races, and driving without a driver's license, specified the official newspaper 26 this Thursday.
Offending vehicles are transported to a storage facility with retention periods ranging from one day to six months, depending on the severity of the violation.
The set fee is 500 Cuban pesos per day, and the confiscation mechanism is automatic. "Once individuals are informed of the date they need to collect the equipment moved to the storage center and they do not pay the full applied fee, the next day the confiscation of that means of transportation will proceed," warned Collazo.
The most recent operation by the Provincial Traffic Directorate of Las Tunas against traffic violations involving motorcycles and electric mopeds has not been without criticism.
Recently, people from Tunero questioned the operation on social media, pointing out that the daily fee is unaffordable in the context of the economic crisis. They also mentioned that the difficulty in obtaining a driver's license in the province leads many drivers to become offenders by omission rather than by choice.
Citizen discomfort with noise has documented precedents. A survey conducted in September 2025 revealed that over 70% of respondents in the eastern province rated the music from motorbikes, bicycle taxis, and recreational centers as "deafening" and "irritating."
The tunero operation is part of an offensive that has spread across several provinces this year. In July, Guantánamo imposed daily fines of 1,000 pesos on motorcycles with resonators.
In the same month, the noise in Sancti Spíritus was classified as an aggravated issue since 2022. More recently, authorities in Havana seized speakers from bicitaxi drivers and warned that repeat offenders could face charges for disobedience. In April, an operation in Santiago de Cuba resulted in over 200 motorcycles being immobilized.
The national pattern shows an irregular application of standards that have been in effect for years. The professor and communicator Manuel Calviño summarized it in July on his program Vale la Pena on the official television channel Cubavisión.
"There are laws that regulate all these matters; however, they are not enforced, and since they are not upheld, they are even less likely to be followed," he argued.
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