A young man who was 19 years old at the time of the events was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment for continuing sabotage, after he participated with his uncle in the theft of dielectric oil that left over 4,000 customers without electricity for more than 24 hours in the municipality of Urbano Noris, Holguín.
The Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Holguín reported this Wednesday that the trial took place on September 15 and had an "exemplary" nature.
The agency attributed both the disruptions to the electrical service and the financial losses for the Electric Company to the actions of the two accused individuals.
The second author, the young man's uncle, received a sentence of 10 years of imprisonment, also for continued sabotage.
Two more individuals were charged with the crime of receiving stolen goods.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, one received a 10-month sentence, while the other was imposed one year and six months of correctional work with confinement.
The names of none of the defendants were disclosed by the authorities.
The classification of these acts as sabotage responds to a judicial policy established since May 2025.
The Opinion 475 of the Government Council of the People's Supreme Court established that the theft or damage to components of the National Electroenergetic System and other strategic infrastructures can be prosecuted as sabotage, under article 125 of the Penal Code.
The ruling itself also ordered to expedite the processing of these cases and to encourage, when deemed appropriate by the judicial authorities, the holding of "exemplary" trials related to attacks or thefts against infrastructure deemed critical.
Despite the tightening of the official response and the exemplary condemnations, thefts related to electrical infrastructure continue to be reported frequently in various provinces of the country.
The magnitude of the phenomenon was revealed at the beginning of September when authorities admitted to more than 460 criminal investigations for offenses against the National Electric System between 2025 and the first half of 2026.
In May, for example, an employee of the Electric Company in Isla de la Juventud was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing 60 liters of dielectric oil from a generating plant.
That same month, another "exemplary" trial took place in Artemisa for the theft of 70 liters of oil from a transformer, where the prosecution requested 12 years in prison.
Days later, in Ciego de Ávila, sentences ranging from seven to 12 years were imposed for sabotage in cases related to the theft of dielectric oil and cables.
More recently, in Contramaestre, Santiago de Cuba, a man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the theft of 120 liters of dielectric oil from an electrical facility, an incident that left over 2,000 people without service for 48 hours.
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