A total of nine people were arrested this Wednesday in the neighborhood of La Marina, in the city of Matanzas, following a police operation against an illegal gambling house.
Among those arrested is the owner of the property, who provided the premises for the illegal activity, according to the report by the Facebook profile "Con Todos La Victoria," a page affiliated with the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in that province.
In the place tables, cards, domino pieces, and dice were confiscated, elements typical of games like bacaraná, numbers —a local variant of bolita or charada— and dice betting.
The operation according to the official profile
The publication, written in the usual triumphalist tone of these profiles linked to the MININT, described the operation as a blow to "vice" and "social disorder."
“This is how a place where vice wreaks havoc amid chips, bacaraná, numbers, money, and an excess of adrenaline is dismantled, which often has an outcome far removed from harmony and social order,” the text states.
Regarding the fate of those arrested, the publication stated that "the detainees will face the outcomes that the law has in store for these cases."
The publication concluded with the slogan, "In the face of crime, illegalities, and social indiscipline, ZERO tolerance!"
The citizens' reaction: questioned priorities
The official publication generated a largely critical response on social media.
Numerous users questioned why authorities target adults who voluntarily bet their money, while a growing number of thefts and assaults—many of which even involve injuries or fatalities—remain unresolved.
“What they need to do is catch those who are assaulting and stealing; those are the ones they need to catch,” wrote an internet user.
Another asked, "And what will they do with the thieves?"
The distinction between play and crimes with direct victims emerged recurrently.
“Playing is not stealing, playing is not killing; however, other things happen and nothing happens”, expressed a user.
Some questioned the impartiality of the operation: "Where I live, there's one and nothing happens," noted one person; while another quipped, "They already opened another one next door."
Matanzas, the most violent province in the country
The context makes the choice of operation even more striking.
In the first half of 2026, Matanzas overtook Havana as the province with the highest number of murders, assaults, and thefts in Cuba, according to the Cuban Observatory for Citizen Auditing (OCAC).
The so-called Athens of Cuba recorded at least 18 murders and 21 documented assaults, along with Granma, accounting for 50.8% of the 592 verified robberies across the country.
At the national level, crime in Cuba continues to rise: the OCAC recorded 2,833 verified crimes in 2025, a 115% increase compared to 2024.
The MININT itself acknowledged in February 2026 an increase of 25% in property crimes.
In that scenario, the question posed by dozens of Cubans in the comments summarizes the problem: “How many murderers, thieves, and assailants have they caught? How many reports with sufficient evidence have they resolved?”
What the law states and what persists in practice regarding gambling in Cuba
Following the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, the new government progressively restricted gambling in Cuba until its total prohibition.
The 2022 Penal Code (Law 151) upholds that prohibition and establishes penalties ranging from one to three years of imprisonment for bankers, collectors, or promoters of illegal games.
Article 281 establishes penalties of three to eight years in prison when the offenses outlined in its previous sections are committed by two or more individuals, although the available information does not allow for determination of what charges could be brought against each of the nine detainees.
Despite this, practices like bolita or charada have survived clandestinely for over six decades, now guided by the results of lotteries in the United States.
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