Crimes against Cuba’s power system deepen the country’s hardships

Crimes affecting Cuba’s National Electric System are adding economic and social damage to a country already facing serious difficulties, officials said on the television program Hacemos Cuba. The offenses do not cause most power interruptions, but they can worsen their impact.

More than 460 criminal investigations began between 2025 and the first half of 2026. The cases mainly involve sabotage, damage, theft, robbery and receiving stolen goods, according to specialists from the Interior Ministry, the Attorney General’s Office and the Supreme People’s Court.

Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Martínez González said the theft of dielectric oil from transformers requires particular attention. The problem has appeared in every Cuban province and in 97 municipalities, with reports increasing from the previous year. Authorities have also recorded damage involving solar panels and the removal of materials from distribution networks, including the metal angles used in high-voltage towers.

Transformer oil plays an essential role in keeping the equipment working. When thieves remove it, transformers can become unusable and entire communities can lose electricity. Investigators are checking vehicle fuel tanks because the oil can be mixed with other fuels and used as a fuel source. In one provincial screening, officials examined 105 vehicles, found dielectric oil mixed with fuel in 21, and seized 18 of them.

Private transport operators predominated among the cases detected, Martínez said, while stressing that this did not implicate all workers in that sector. Prosecutor Rayma Velázquez Romero said finding the substance can lead to legal action when evidence establishes a crime. Cuban law also allows courts to impose additional sanctions involving property used in or obtained through an offense.