The traffic police of Baracoa, in the province of Guantánamo, detained a citizen who was transporting 28 quintals of clean coffee in a rental car, according to a report this Sunday from the official page "Guantánamo and its Truth" on Facebook.
The detainee resides in the municipality of Marianao, in Havana, and the coffee was allegedly destined for the capital.
The released photographs show the citizen —with a pixelated face— alongside dozens of sacks piled against a wall, a gray Hyundai Accent, and the trunk of the vehicle open with the contents visible inside.
The 28 quintals equate to 2,800 pounds of clean coffee. Considering a price of around 700 Cuban pesos per pound in the informal market of Guantánamo, the potential value of the load would amount to nearly two million Cuban pesos.
According to the publication, the citizen is being investigated for an alleged crime of speculation and hoarding. The inquiries aim to determine the exact origin of the product, which, according to the report, may have been purchased in Baracoa itself, and whether the purchase bypassed contracting and state control mechanisms or if there were failures to meet delivery commitments by producers.
The use of a rented car adds another dimension to the case. If it is confirmed that the vehicle was leased from Transtur and used in an illegal activity, the renter could face contractual penalties, loss of liability relief, and additional charges for damages, when applicable.
Baracoa is one of the main coffee-producing and exporting regions in the country. The province of Guantánamo exported around 370 tons of products—including coffee—during the first quarter of 2026, valued at over 72 million Cuban pesos. However, the population lacks the product: Cuba needs approximately 24,000 tons annually to meet internal demand, but produced only 2,887 tons in the first half of 2025, which is just 23.7% of the target.
At the end of April, the authorities seized over 270 bags of coffee from a house in Santiago de Cuba. Days earlier, more than 100 bags hidden among coal were confiscated from a truck coming from Santiago de Cuba and intercepted in Las Tunas.
The Cuban Penal Code, in effect since 2022, includes penalties of six months to two years of imprisonment or fines for hoarding, and one to three years of imprisonment or fines for speculation. In both cases, the two penalties may also be imposed jointly.
The coffee harvest of 2026-2027 in Guantánamo began with the goal of harvesting 294,568 cans across eight municipalities, following a previous campaign deemed "very low" by the authorities themselves.
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