The police in the municipality of Regla, to the east of Havana, seized 680 liters of gasoline distributed in 28 containers of 25 liters each, during an operation against fuel theft announced by a MININT profile on Facebook, "Heroes in Blue in Cuba".
According to the official publication, the case was "resolved, with perpetrators arrested and undergoing prosecution." The images show a uniformed officer—badge number 08371—next to a blue motorcycle loaded with plastic canisters of various colors and sizes, and dozens of containers lined up against a wall.
The MININT highlighted that it was the neighbors themselves who provided information and witnessed the operation, presenting citizen participation as a central element of the police success.
The information did not specify how many people were arrested nor did it reveal the identities of those presumed to be responsible.
The seizure occurs in the context of the worst fuel crisis that Cuba has faced in decades.
Since late 2025, the island has been facing extreme shortages caused by the suspension of oil shipments from Venezuela and the disruption of supplies from Mexico on January 9, 2026.
Due to shortages, the regime eliminated the sale of gasoline in Cuban pesos starting in February 2026, leaving only the dollarized channel with a limit of 20 liters per person and waits of up to 26 hours in line.
The official price was set at $2.60 per liter as of May 15, while in the informal market, it ranges between six and eight dollars.
That price gap has triggered the illegal theft and resale of fuel across the country. In February, a police operation in Santiago de Cuba seized gasoline containers from private homes.
In March, the police arrested 16 individuals at Cupet service stations in the Havana municipalities of Playa and Plaza de la Revolución for the illegal sale of service slots and hoarding.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz demanded in April a "hard hand" against fuel theft, with zero tolerance for these crimes or corruption.
The Cuban legal framework, through the Penal Code (Law 151 of 2022) and Opinion 475 of the People's Supreme Court, allows for the classification of the theft of state fuel as sabotage, with penalties of up to 12 years in prison.
An emblematic case illustrates the severity of the sentences: a worker in Santiago de Cuba was sentenced to 12 years in prison for stealing over 5,700 liters of diesel intended for hospital generators.
Regla is a port and industrial area historically linked to the storage and distribution of fuels, making it a particularly sensitive site for this type of crime.
Legal risks are compounded by physical ones: Cuban firefighters warned on Wednesday about the fire hazard resulting from storing fuel in non-approved plastic containers, a practice that has become widespread due to the ongoing crisis.
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