Madrid/The heavy hand against crimes that concern the national energy system (SEN) in Cuba is not only applied against those who commit them. In Holguín, in a new exemplary trial, at the same time that the two perpetrators of the dielectric oil theft, sentenced for sabotage to 10 and 8 years in prison, respectively, two buyers have also been sentenced to one year and six months and 10 months. They accuse them of “receiving the product.”
In the process, of which he gave a detailed account the official press Last Friday, it was established that the accused, Luis Manuel and his uncle, Jesús Yusnel, stole at least 440 liters of oil from a substation located in the El Zarzal community, in the municipality of Urbano Noris. The events occurred, says the note Now!between the months of September and October 2024 “on a recurring basis.”
That is, a year and a half before the Cuban regime will declare war on this type of crimesspurred by the energy crisis that has worsened since the beginning of the year, with the US intervention in Venezuela and the subsequent oil blockade of the Island.
“He positioned himself under the transformer, removed the plug and began to extract the dielectric oil, as if such an action were ‘a piece of cake'”
The “proven facts” story, however, seems to refer to a single event. “With the help of his uncle Jesús Yusnel, 33 years old, Luis Manuel penetrated the perimeter fence of the electrical substation, positioned himself under the transformer, removed the plug and began to extract the dielectric oil, as if such an action were ‘a piece of cake’, without calculating risks and much less thinking that sabotaging ‘the light’ is punishable,” reads the article. Now!which adds that the product was transported “by bicycle and cart.”
“The impact on the population was immediate,” the newspaper states, mixing past and present tense, since the affected substation “provides service to more than 4,000 customers.” Although it recognizes that “the line was already affected by the generation deficit typical of the energy crisis that hits the country,” the “act of sabotage” caused “the blackout to last for more than 24 hours.” And he concedes: “Back then the power cuts were less intense.”
The Prosecutor’s Office established the accusation of “sabotage of a continuous nature” in article 10 of the Penal Code of 2022, which establishes “sanctions of seven to fifteen years of deprivation of liberty for anyone who, with the purpose of preventing or hindering the normal functioning, or knowing that this result may occur, destroys, alters, damages or harms the means, resources, buildings, systems, facilities or socioeconomic or military units intended to guarantee energy sources and energy transmission”.
The Provincial Court of Holguín, however, applied mitigating circumstances to the defendants, for “the collaboration with the investigation and the remorse shown.” Luis Manuel, identified as the material author of the sabotage, was sentenced to 8 years in prison, taking into account both his age – 19 years at the time of the events – and his help in “the reconstruction of the events.” Jesús Yusnel, 33, for his part, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
“Neither of them appeared before the authorities to report the purchased product once they suspected its origin”
As for the “receivers,” they are Yordan, 44, who bought “eight bottles of 20 liters of oil” for 4,500 pesos each, “in order to use it in a motor vehicle thinking it was oil.” He, in turn, sold 40 liters to Adrián, a 39-year-old state driver for the Popular Power Construction Company of Holguín (Domus). He “bought the product with the interest of making a trip to Levisa, Mayarí, hired by a MSME to sell frozen products, the latter duly authorized and documented.”
Thus, it is understood that neither of them was fully aware of the origin of the fake diesel. However, it was decreed in the trial that “neither of the two appeared before the authorities to report the purchased product once they suspected its origin when they saw police movements at the substation, and noticed a different smoke from the combustion of their transports.” For this reason, Yordan received one year and six months in prison “alternated with correctional work with confinement” and Adrián, six months of the same sentence.
According to data from the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic itself, between 2025 and the first half of 2026, more than 460 criminal investigations related to similar events, under the accusations of “sabotage”, “damages”, “robbery with force of things”, “theft” and “reception”. All the courts so far this year, in fact, have been sentenced for the crime of “sabotage”, the majority to sentences of between 9 and 20 years in prison.
The dielectric oil subtraction of transformers is the predominant crime, with more than 300 complaints during that period in all provinces. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the highest incidents were recorded in Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, Mayabeque, Santiago de Cuba and Artemisa. The agency also reports theft of angles from high-voltage towers, cables, wires and screws from distribution networks, as well as damage to photovoltaic solar parks.
87% of the defendants presented received the precautionary measure of provisional detention, the statement said. Always with the same tone of warning, the Prosecutor’s Office recalled that articles 125 and 126 of the Cuban Penal Code establish for the crime of “sabotage” penalties of between seven and 30 years of deprivation of liberty, in addition to perpetual deprivation of liberty or death in aggravated cases.
The note also regretted that some people have died while They were trying to carry out these thefts, “because the lines were energized.” The Prosecutor’s Office explained that the stolen oil has ended up on the informal market to be used as fuel.
