“CIM agents broke down my door to try to silence me,” reveals the organizer of the queues for several Cupets.
14ymedio, Havana, 30 March 2025 — A striking complaint is being posted on the Telegram groups coordinating fuel dispatch at Havana gas stations where the Ticket app is not yet available. “Someone very close to me has told me that I am ’sick of communism,’ and if it’s about demanding that the rights of the people be respected, demanding what is due to us, and demanding that what is established be fulfilled, then yes, I am sick,” Pedro Garcés, organizer of the El Vedado gas stations and the social group Gente de Barrio, began his message.
“No one knows better than my team and I the worries and anger we’re experiencing regarding the fuel issue (since last night, with a new incident at the Cupet del Riviera) simply because there are those who believe they ’own’ the town and think they can do whatever they want with total impunity,” the man continued, alluding to an issue he explained in another message.
The worker, who when the Ticket app came into effect for the service stations at 17 and L and Tángana – which he coordinated – began to do the same with the Riviera, denounced this Sunday: “Unfortunately, once again, there is no transparency or understanding between those responsible for the fuel at the Cupet Riviera and us.”
“There are those who believe they own the people and think they can do whatever they want with total impunity.” And he continued: “Last night they closed without warning at 9:00 p.m., then informed us that we would attend to the pending orders (which had already been scheduled) this morning. To our surprise, when we asked for the amount of fuel we should have left from our inspections (for 50 cars), they told us it was only for 30, and to avoid any disagreements, we only scheduled 30. The worst part was that when we got there, they told us to cancel the order because ’there’s no fuel.’”
While apologizing to customers, he said, “I still don’t understand and I’m waiting for someone to take action on this matter.” This same Saturday, Roberto Gelaber reported to the Riviera group: “It’s been a blast, stay tuned for the calls.”
Their messages, while not detailing the specific circumstances of what happened at the Riviera, directly accuse the Cimex corporation, which belongs to the Gaesa military conglomerate and is responsible for the Cupet scandal. “Sadly, this is what has been proliferating for a long time in my country, and those same rapists who profit from what is not theirs (because as far as I know, Cimex is not yet privately held) feel above the law and positions, and they allow it. How long must we tolerate such disrespect and lack of communication?”
Furthermore, he revealed that he has been harassed by agents of the Military Counterintelligence (CIM). “They have disturbed my rest and that of my family, breaking down my door to try to silence me,” he asserts, and exclaims: “I am waiting for them with the responses to so many complaints filed, and they have been able to prove that the population is not lying.”
“The evil is deep inside, the evil comes from those who don’t want our country to improve, and it’s not just the enemy 90 miles away.”
Numerous group users were quick to support the hardworking coordinators. Brynden, for example, agrees, pointing out the impunity of Cimex and “its corrupt gang” and calls for: “Away with corruption and impunity from socialist companies.”
“The evil is deep inside, the evil comes from those who don’t want our country to improve, and it’s not just the enemy 90 miles away,” Ernesto Burgos says in a long message of support. “It’s those we have here who receive briefcases full of money for authorizing and allowing corruption.” For this user, “those from the CIM who knocked on his door to demand silence are ordered by other corrupt officials who receive the profits from what is done at the Cupet Riviera and many other places, where they profit from what belongs to the people.”
Yamira González agrees: “It’s time to put a stop to the Cupet Riviera, about which there have been so many complaints and no one cares anymore.” In her message, in addition to congratulating Pedro Garcés and his team, she alludes to the so-called “government representative” at the gas station, “a jerk” who “thinks he’s the owner, with bad manners, rudeness, and disrespect, without mentioning the huge business he has and is still unpunished.”
The woman also expresses her surprise at the fact that Tángana and 17th and L, in El Vedado, which “were the most organized Cupet,” were precisely “the first to switch to Ticket.”
One of Havana residents’ main objections to Ticket, which began rolling out on March 13, is precisely that it wouldn’t work as well as the aforementioned Telegram groups. In them, the affected drivers argued at the time, “at least we have real people standing up and organizing the lines.”
Those in charge of these groups, such as Esther Lilian Pérez Trujillo at the gas stations in Guanabacoa, or Pedro Garcés in El Vedado, have proven to carry out their tasks efficiently—and in some cases with a firm hand. Their hand isn’t trembling when it comes to reporting them to more powerful authorities.
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
