The Provincial People's Court of Sancti Spíritus convicted four individuals for stealing and illegally selling gas canisters, with sentences ranging from two to 12 years in prison, reported the official newspaper Escambray this Friday.
The First Criminal Chamber held the oral trial over two days for case 14 of 2026, determining the level of involvement of each defendant in the crimes of robbery with force, receipt of stolen goods, and illicit economic activity.
Two of the convicted dedicated their nights and early mornings to stealing gas cylinders from over 20 occupied homes in the city of Sancti Spíritus.
One of them received 12 years of imprisonment and the other, 10, both for burglary with force of a continued nature.
In addition to prison sentences, the court ordered them to compensate for the damages caused to the owners and indemnify them for the stolen goods, "jointly and severally," according to Escambray.
The prosecution emphasized "the dangerousness of the events, considering that the robberies occurred in occupied homes," and the victims who appeared before the court "expressed that they felt economically affected."
A third defendant was sentenced to two years and six months for continued receiving, as he purchased the bullets from the thieves and resold them "without verifying their origin."
The individual received two years for engaging in illegal economic activity, as they were involved in the clandestine sale of gas, which they acquired by purchasing cards and contracts from individuals who did not utilize that resource.
All were imposed accessory sanctions of deprivation of rights and prohibition of leaving the national territory until they served their sentences, the source specified.
The parties have 10 days, from the written notification of the judgment, to file a cassation appeal.
In June 2025, the Ministry of the Interior dismantled a similar network in Sancti Spíritus consisting of four individuals who operated between January and May of that year, and whose main perpetrator confessed to 25 thefts in homes in the provincial capital.
Both cases are set against a prolonged supply crisis that has turned liquefied gas into a scarce and coveted commodity.
From October 2025 until last July, more than 37,000 customers in the province were unable to purchase fuel, while sales remained halted at the eight distribution points in the city.
That void has fostered a clandestine business that thrives in Sancti Spíritus: 10-kilogram bags have been offered for as much as 70,000 Cuban pesos in the informal market, compared to the official price of 350 pesos set by Resolution 155/2026.
On a national scale, 834,000 of the 1.7 million registered customers were unable to acquire liquefied gas through the state network during the distributions in April, as part of the deepening energy crisis affecting the island.
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