The daughter points out that her mother was on sick leave when the crime was committed and that the company was a victim of a con man who fled from Cuba
14ymedio, Havana, 29 August 2025 — The convictions of directors of the Agricultural Supply Company of Sancti Spíritus for corruption, reported by the official press this week, have generated unusual reactions among Cubans who have read the news. Although the majority call the officials “predators” and “thieves,” several people close to the accused have come to their defense claiming that they are at least partly innocent.
The most striking comment was posted on 14ymedio’s Facebook page by someone who identified herself “D.S.,” the daughter of a director, who received the longest sentence with 20 years in prison. “Everyone who knows the case knows very well that I’m talking about my mother, the director. Just like any human being she has the right to get sick, and she was ill with a reactive hepatitis which made it impossible for her to do her job for four months,” she claims.
During that time, “sales were made in the company behind their backs,” she says in reference to the marketing of state goods by a self-employed worker, who, according to the Escambray newspaper, turned out to be a con man. According to the local newspaper, the man appeared “disguised as a representative of a so-called Local Development Project,” and, after making not one but several purchases from the company, left the country without paying. The contract, she adds, required payment to be made “in a timely manner.”
In addition to being sick, the daughter adds, the fact that the company was robbed of 94 million pesos is an element in favor of her mother and the other defendants. “They were tried for embezzlement without taking any money; they only sold the goods to a guy who never paid and left the country. Now I wonder: is it ethical for a human being to be so demonized without knowing exactly what happened?”
She also said that the director’s family “will appeal and go as far as it has to for the truth to be recognized.”
She also said that the director’s family “will appeal and go as far as it has to for the truth to be recognized.”
At the bottom of the publication of Escambray’s note on social networks, the woman scolded several users who asked for more severe punishments or insulted the leaders who were tried. “Easy to say, ma’am, without really knowing what happened. Read it well before speaking. Nobody took anything; they were conned by a guy who bought all the merchandise and then left the country without paying.”
Other netizens, apparently close to the case, also endorsed several of the woman’s comments. “I am a witness of her illness, as I am also a witness of the great woman that she is and will continue being. She has spent many years defending the Revolution. Now, in my view, they have committed a great injustice. Everyone knows what happened, many know the reality, but there are wars that you will never win even if you are right. A good understanding, a few words are enough,” one of them predicted.
Another added on her own Facebook page: “There would be much to add, but I limit myself to one fact: a good friend from my time at Santa Clara high school is imprisoned, right now, for embezzlement, corruption, and I do not know how many more charges. They asked for 20 years. But to those who have us stealing and inventing, in order to live poorly in this demonic country, we pay homage and let them continue fattening themselves with impunity before our very eyes. Out of fear, indolence, apathy… who knows?” she criticized.
In response to the promise of the daughter to pursue the case to the end, another person added: “I hope so, then the truth will come out and they will have to bite their tongues and swallow poison. Enough of this circus: that person has a family.”
The director of the company was tried along with four other senior officials on August 22 and 23 by the Criminal Chamber of the Provincial Court
The director of the company was tried along with four other senior officials on August 22 and 23 by the Criminal Chamber of the Provincial Court. Although her sentence was the harshest, the rest were also given long sentences: the director of the company’s Basic Business Unit (UEB) Marketing and Services, sentenced to 18 years in prison; the commercial director, 16 years; the legal adviser, 10 years; and the former director general, who took office in 2023, two years and six months of deprivation of liberty, “subsidized by correctional work with internment for the same term.”
In addition to being conned, they were also accused of “breach of duty to preserve property in economic entities.” According to Escambray, on two occasions the refrigerator for the meat, intended for “internal feeding,” broke and consequently did not reach the level of cold needed to conserve the food inside.”
The directors, “despite knowledge of the situation, did not implement effective actions” to save the meat products, which caused a loss of more than three million pesos,” says the official newspaper. The director’s daughter didn’t make any argument about this crime.
Whether it is the version of the state or the family, both are incomplete, and many aspects remain to be clarified. Who authorized the sale to a private con man? Why was his identity not verified? And, ultimately, where were those responsible for monitoring and auditing the company’s assets?
Translated by Regina Anavy
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