A court in Las Tunas sentenced a citizen to 15 years in prison for selling marijuana, cocaine, and synthetic cannabinoids in the Mexico neighborhood, reported the official newspaper 26 this Sunday.
The First Criminal Chamber of the Provincial People's Court held the trial related to case 115 of 2026, deemed by the state media as "exemplary."
The authorities detected the activity through electronic surveillance, a special investigative technique that verified that the accused was systematically selling the three substances in that area of the city.
In addition to the main penalty, the court imposed ancillary sanctions that include the deprivation of public rights, the confiscation of seized assets, and the prohibition of applying for a passport or leaving the national territory for the duration of the sentence. These measures are regulated under Law 151 of 2022, Penal Code.
The newspaper reported that the ruling was issued in a public oral hearing, in accordance with the procedural guarantees and due process established in the Constitution.
The case is known at a time when the Cuban authorities themselves acknowledge the expansion of drug trafficking and consumption in the country.
Colonel Juan Carlos Poey Guerra, head of the Specialized Anti-Drug Enforcement Body of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), recently admitted that drug possession and use have spread to all provinces, with methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoids being among the most prevalent substances.
Las Tunas ranks among the most affected territories. Between 2024 and 2025, it recorded an 81.4% increase in cases of consumption, with a higher incidence in the age group of 14 to 25 years, and even cases documented from as young as eight years old.
In June, the province inaugurated the first Provincial Drug Observatory in Cuba, where synthetic cannabinoids were identified as the most prevalent substance in the area.
On his part, the toxicologist Alejandro Mestre Barroso warned that consumption had increased by more than 200% compared to the pre-pandemic period. In 2024, the National Toxicology Center reported 600 cases, of which more than 90% were related to synthetic drugs. "That's just the tip of the iceberg," the specialist cautioned.
Cuban authorities have identified at least 40 variants of these substances circulating in the country, some adulterated with fentanyl, formaldehyde, benzodiazepines, and veterinary anesthetics, significantly increasing the risk of severe poisoning, seizures, and psychosis.
The sentence from Las Tunas is part of a series of rulings related to drug trafficking issued so far this year. Among them are sentences of eight years in Holguín, between four and six years for four defendants in Cienfuegos, and 15 years for two individuals in Artemisa for trafficking synthetic cannabinoids.
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