The forces of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in Villa Clara clarified this Friday a series of thefts committed against several departments of the University of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara, as reported by the state agency ACN. The investigations led to the capture of three alleged perpetrators and the partial recovery of the property stolen from the institution.
According to the publication by the Cuban News Agency, investigations began following reports of repeated thefts of state property in educational and healthcare facilities of the higher education institution, including the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Nursing.
Lieutenant Colonel Sandy Pérez Vázquez, head of the Provincial Criminal Investigation Unit, explained that the perpetrators took advantage of moments when there was less personnel presence and the vulnerabilities identified in the buildings to steal "water storage tanks, computer equipment, fans, and televisions intended for training purposes and institutional comfort," the outlet reported.
The initial investigations led to the identification of two suspects. The home searches conducted with the support of the criminal investigation authorities allowed for the immediate seizure of a water dispenser, a television, the condenser of an air conditioning unit, and several mobile phones that matched the inventory of items reported as stolen, the report stated.
In a second phase of the investigations, the researchers located items that the offenders had hidden in various locations: two additional fans, a complete air conditioning unit, and a second television. Pérez Vázquez specified that "the progress of the investigations allowed for a direct connection of three citizens to this criminal network, with four distinct incidents of theft and burglary clearly established through substantial evidence."
On the same Friday, a restitution event was held between the MININT and the university management council, where the recovered items were returned to their respective teaching and administrative areas. The rector, Doctor in Sciences Calixto Orozco Muñoz, noted that the return of fans, televisions, and air conditioning units to their original departments allows for “the normal resumption of various institutional services,” the source detailed.
The case is part of a series of thefts from health institutions that has intensified in Cuba during 2026. In recent weeks, reports have surfaced of theft within hospitals, including the theft of a ventilator from a hospitalized child in Santiago de Cuba, and reports from medical staff in Cienfuegos whose belongings were stolen during their shifts.
The crime rate on the island has become more lethal: according to the Cuban Observatory of Citizen Audit (OCAC), murders increased by 43% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period the previous year, rising from 63 to 90 cases,
The MININT has resorted to public acts of returning recovered goods in several provinces as part of its strategy to enhance visibility amid the deterioration of citizen security. The U.S. Embassy in Havana warned on September 1 about a "widespread increase in crime" in Cuba, attributed to the decline in economic conditions during the structural crisis the country is experiencing.
Pérez Vázquez warned that the investigation is not closed: “The investigative file remains open and active with the aim of precisely identifying the criminal responsibilities of each individual involved, recovering the remainder of the institutional assets, and verifying potential links to similar illicit events previously recorded in the university environment.”
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