Havana/One man died and another was seriously injured last Friday night in Santiago de Cuba, while they were trying to steal dielectric oil from a transformer bank in the town of Alta Esperanza, in the Songo La Maya municipality.
According to the official publication of the province’s Electric Company, at the time when the two brothers were trying to commit the theft, a cut in a transformer caused an explosion that directly affected those involved, causing the immediate death of one of them and serious burns to the other.
The statement emphasizes that this type of crime against the National Electrical System (SEN) is sanctioned according to Law No. 151/2022, article 125, of the Penal Code, which constitutes “sabotage” as it is an “attack against the infrastructure that supports daily life and the economic development of the country.”
The risky theft of dielectric oil is not new in Cuba and its repetition shows the desperation to which the population has reached, in the context of needs and shortcomings suffered as a result of the current crisis on the Island.
The risky theft of dielectric oil is not new in Cuba and its repetition shows the desperation to which the population has reached
In addition to being a danger to the physical integrity of the perpetrators – as has been seen in this and other cases– the crime is classified and severely penalized by law: The sanctions can range from four to twenty years in prison, and even reach life imprisonment if there are aggravating circumstances. In some cases recorded by 14ymedio the perpetrators have come to receive sentences of 15 years in prison.
Dielectric oil performs an essential insulation and cooling function, crucial in prolonging the useful life and efficient operation of electrical transformers. In a situation of shortage of all types of inputs in the country, this substance has become a precious commodity, which is stolen from electrical poles to end up lubricating household appliance motors, among other functions.
The explosion of the transformers caused a power outage in the municipalities of Songo La Maya and Segundo Frente, after the fall of a 33 kV line that supplied the area. The Electric Company warned that the extraction of dielectric oil can cause breakdowns, explosions and blackouts – as occurred in this case –, in addition to generating a deficit of this essential resource for the system, with direct effects on the supply to the population.
The state entity announced hours laterthat the perpetrators were brothers, and that the authorities have managed to recover 70 liters of the stolen oil, 100 meters from the scene of the events.
