The State Security Crimes Chamber sentenced him for sabotage after he stole more than 5,700 liters of diesel
14ymedio, Madrid, May 12, 2026 — A worker at the Saturnino Lora Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba was sentenced to 12 years in prison for “embezzlement” and “sabotage.” The man was prosecuted for stealing more than 5,700 liters of diesel intended for the health center’s generator units and contaminating the reserve fuel with water, which left the generators unusable during a blackout.
According to an official statement from the Santiago de Cuba Provincial People’s Court regarding the trial, held in the State Security Crimes Chamber, the accused worked as a “Specialist B” in energy saving and rational energy use, and was the only person responsible for controlling the fuel stored to power the hospital’s generator units. Taking advantage of that responsibility, he extracted a total of 5,742 liters of diesel from the storage tanks, which he later sold on the black market.
To conceal the shortage, according to the ruling, the employee temporarily refilled the generators with reserve fuel. However, anticipating an inspection by the Energy Generation Base Business Unit, he poured a similar amount of water into the reserve tank, thereby contaminating the diesel.
The failure caused the interruption of treatment for five patients connected to mechanical ventilators in intensive care
The manipulation became evident, the official account continues, after a shutdown of the national electrical system and the hospital’s generator units failed to start operating. According to the statement, the failure affected medical services at both Saturnino Lora Hospital and the Santiago de Cuba Cardiology Center, and caused the interruption of treatment for five patients connected to mechanical ventilators in intensive care. The fuel contamination also damaged protective filters and settling devices in the generator units.
The court considered the accused guilty of the crimes of embezzlement and sabotage, established in Articles 424 and 125 of the Cuban Penal Code, and imposed a combined sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment, in addition to a ban on leaving the country and the loss of public rights. He must also assume “civil liability arising from the damages.”
The sentence comes amid a penal crackdown promoted by the Cuban Government against any disruption related to the national electrical system. In April of this year, Cuba’s prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, demanded a “heavy hand” against these crimes and an increase in efforts to combat the theft of fuel and dielectric oil from transformers.
Depending on the seriousness of the act and its consequences, penalties can reach up to 30 years in prison, life imprisonment, or even the death penalty
In that context, the official press recalled that sabotage against the national electric power system is classified in the Cuban Penal Code with penalties that can reach, depending on the seriousness of the act and its consequences, up to 30 years’ imprisonment, life imprisonment, or even the death penalty.
Recently, the courts have increased the so-called “exemplary trials” for fuel thefts and crimes associated with energy infrastructure, in a way that appears intended to shift responsibility for the structural deterioration of the national electrical system onto these specific crimes. Last March, two men in Ciego de Ávila were sentenced to nine and seven years in prison for stealing bolts intended for a photovoltaic park, also under sabotage charges.
Scarcity, necessity, and the opportunities of a black market that pays what the State cannot guarantee have multiplied this year’s thefts of fuel and dielectric oil. These acts directly affect the population but also put the perpetrators themselves at risk, as some have been injured or killed during the thefts.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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