They were selling water with coloring and thickener as if it were oil in Granma

Two individuals were arrested in the municipality of Bartolomé Masó, Granma, accused of selling a mixture allegedly made with water, coloring, and thickening agent as cooking oil, according to a report shared on social media.

The profile Entérate con Aytana Alama, linked to State Security, reported this Monday that those involved were reusing original 17-liter containers and filling them with the mixture to give it a similar appearance to edible oil.

According to that official version, the alleged fraud came to light when a person who had purchased one of the containers discovered that the contents had been tampered with and complained to the sellers.

At that moment, the suspects were attempting to finalize another sale with a second buyer, who, according to the account, recognized them and stated that they had previously sold him a similar liquid using the same method.

Following the complaint, one of the sellers refunded the amount for one of the containers, and a report was later filed with the police.

The authorities reportedly located and subsequently arrested two alleged accomplices, who were handed over to the relevant authorities for alleged offenses of fraud and product tampering, according to the publication.

The economic crisis and food scarcity create fertile ground for unscrupulous individuals to engage in the trade and adulteration of food and basic products in Cuba for profit, a phenomenon that is increasingly common.

In March 2023, a Cuban woman reported having bought at La Cuevita in Havana, a container that was supposedly filled with oil but turned out to be water with vinegar.

The woman then confirmed that the container was sealed, so she was unable to detect the deception before purchasing it.

A similar case was mentioned again in 2024 during a report about adulterated coffee purchased from a small and medium-sized enterprise in Sancti Spíritus.

In that context, the La Cuevita fraud was recalled once again, where a buyer had received spoiled water instead of oil.

In June 2025, Cuban filmmaker Enrique "Kiki" Álvarez denounced an alleged scam involving a bottle marketed as olive oil in a small and medium-sized enterprise in Havana.

The product turned out to be mostly sunflower oil and contained only a small proportion of olive oil, according to the label examined later.