Everything about the embezzlement in the distribution of basic food products, nothing about the dismissal of Minister Gil or the finances of Gaesa.
14ymedio, Havana, 4 July 2025 — With a great propaganda display, Cuban television announced a “historic” program of Hacemos Cuba dedicated to denouncing cases of administrative corruption on the Island. Finally, some thought, Humberto López would lift the veil over a matter that is roiling the country. But disappointment was not long in coming. Not a single word was said about Alejandro Gil, former deputy prime minister and head of the economy, accused in March 2024 of “corruption, simulation and insensitivity.” No high-level issues were touched upon.
The guests of Humberto López’s program – officials from the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, colonels from the Ministry of the Interior and representatives from the Attorney General’s Office – presented an image of severe institutionalism and operational efficiency. Between impeccable uniforms and carefully measured phrases, they insisted that “there is no impunity” and that the structures of the state are designed to detect and punish any irregularities. However, their presence on the set reinforced the feeling that corruption is only pursued when it occurs at the margins of power. More than guardians of legality, the guests seemed interpreters of a libretto that carefully avoids pointing up.
Cases covered during the transmission included embezzlement in the distribution of basic basket products, misappropriation of funds in state enterprises and criminal actions by mid- and low-level officials.
The most prominent example was that of the Base 654 Business Unit in Bayamo, where a pattern of systematic subtraction of rice, peas and sugar was detected
The most prominent example was that of the Base 654 Business Unit in Bayamo, where a pattern of systematic subtraction of rice, peas and sugar was detected. According to the authorities, those involved even filled bags with sand to hide the lack of food for more than 256,000 consumers in Granma province. Eight people are currently in pre-trial detention, including the director of the entity, a commercial specialist and other warehouse workers.
In another case, in the Suchel company, personal care products were stolen and placed on the informal market. Similar events were also mentioned in solid waste collection entities in the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolución and Centro Habana, and in a subsidiary company of Copextel in Camagüey. The authorities stated that in all these cases investigations were initiated by popular complaints or internal audits, with the participation of the Comptroller General, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior.
The structure of the program was more geared towards reaffirming the official narrative, which presents the state as a victim of dishonest employees, rather than providing a true exercise in accountability.
Professor Alina Bárbara López Hernández expressed her disappointment at what was presented as an “unprecedented crusade”. Although the driver Humberto López showed “almost childish enthusiasm at inaugurating this new stage of the program,” the expectation of addressing major corruption cases -such as that of former minister Gil, the shady operations of Cimex or the opaque finances of Gaesa- was quickly frustrated. Instead of digging into the heights of power, the program was limited to “exposing deviations and improper management in base entities and municipal enterprises, presented as if they were the core of the problem.”
Professor Alina Bárbara López Hernández expressed her disappointment at what was presented as an “unprecedented crusade”
López points out that the program’s approach reinforces a narrative of horizontal surveillance: citizens are invited to report what is happening in their immediate environment, without questioning the higher gears of the system. Despite some revealing assertions, such as the admission of structural failures in internal control mechanisms and the need for a “separation of functions”, she stresses that these failures are a reflection of the vertical political order where there is no “separation of powers”.
Corruption in the base is a symptom, not the source. As long as one does not look upwards with the same impetus, the attempt to show transparency will be, as in this first program, insufficient and disappointing.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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