Three Cubans were sentenced to prison terms of 15, 14, and 8 years for stealing dielectric oil from transformers and electrical substations in the province of Matanzas. These actions were classified as sabotage by a court and resulted in prolonged blackouts in communities and disruptions to agricultural activities.
According to reported this Tuesday by the state media TV Yumurí, the First Criminal Chamber of the Provincial People’s Court of Matanzas imposed sanctions after judging several incidents of oil theft from equipment of the National Electric System.
The highest sentence, of 15 years of imprisonment, was imposed on Brayan Navarro Marrero, whom the court held responsible for two counts of ongoing sabotage.
Marvin Spek Pérez received a sentence of 14 years for a continuous sabotage offense, while Yaciel Valle Pérez was sentenced to eight years for simple sabotage.
According to the report, the judges took into account that Navarro Marrero was 18 years old at the time of the events and that he cooperated with the authorities to clarify what happened after his arrest.
The legal case was related to seven incidents of theft of dielectric oil, which mainly occurred in electrical facilities in Jagüey Grande, in the south of Matanzas.
The first event reported by the official media occurred on October 4, 2024, when Navarro Marrero climbed an electric pole on AG 26 road, about four meters high, and extracted oil from a transformer.
The theft rendered equipment used for agricultural irrigation inoperable and hindered the planting of beans during the cold season, according to the information released.
On October 18 of that year, the accused acted again in the vicinity of the junction of the AG 26 School. Subsequently, on October 26 and 28, he stole oil from a substation that supplied electricity to the town of Agramonte.
On those last two occasions, he extracted around 100 liters each time, according to the official account.
The investigation states that in 2025, Navarro Marrero coordinated with Marvin Spek Pérez and Yaciel Valle Pérez to continue the thefts in electrical facilities.
One of the most serious incidents occurred on June 25, 2025, when those involved used a Mitsubishi vehicle belonging to the Varadero Tourism Real Estate Company to travel to the San José de Marcos substation.
According to TV Yumurí, they extracted 600 liters of dielectric oil from the location, which caused a transformer to burn out and become inoperative.
As a result, over 1,000 customers were affected by the interruption of the electrical supply.
On June 30, the accused went to the vicinity of the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production 10 de Octubre, on AG 26 road, but were caught by a guard and managed to escape.
The report also mentions another theft of oil at the San José de Marcos substation, attributed to Navarro Marrero on July 13, 2025.
The affected communities experienced prolonged interruptions to their electrical service.
In San José de Marcos, authorities had previously acknowledged that the theft of approximately 1,000 liters of oil left residents without electricity for over 30 days.
In September, officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Attorney General's Office, and the People's Supreme Court confirmed that there were more than 460 criminal investigations for offenses against the National Electric System between 2025 and the first half of 2026.
The authorities indicated that the theft of dielectric oil had been detected in all provinces of the country and in 97 municipalities. Some of the stolen product ended up in the informal market, where it was used mixed with fuel.
In early October, the Provincial Defense Council of Matanzas warned about the increase of these thefts in Cárdenas, Jovellanos, Jagüey Grande, and Colón, and acknowledged the serious consequences for the electricity supply.
By the end of August, the province had recorded 175 incidents of dielectric oil theft, with over 55,950 liters stolen and 91 transformers damaged.
Additionally, 43 of its 98 substations had been affected, according to the figures released by the authorities.
The criminal treatment of these events is based on Opinion 475/2025 from the Council of Government of the People's Supreme Tribunal, which established criteria for categorizing them as sabotage when they affect facilities of the National Electric System.
This criterion allows for the imposition of harsher penalties than those applicable to common theft or robbery, with sentences that may be increased based on the damages and consequences of each incident.
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