A network dedicated to the theft and illegal resale of liquefied gas canisters in the province of Sancti Spíritus, between January and May of this year, was dismantled by forces from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), according to official sources.
Lieutenant Colonel Rolando Rodríguez Carmenate, head of the Criminal Investigation Department of MININT, told Radio Sancti Spíritus that the gang consisted of four individuals: two of them committed the thefts in the main municipality, while the other two received and resold the gas cylinders in that city and in the community of Meneses, in the municipality of Yaguajay.
The modus operandi of the network was to take advantage of nighttime hours to break into vulnerable houses, from which they stole small items to sell on the black market at prices well above the official value.
Rodríguez Carmenate reported that “the two perpetrators, who directly committed the acts, were arrested; as well as two individuals who were responsible for receiving these bullets, both empty and loaded.”
Revealed that the main author has acknowledged, so far, 25 cases of burglary and theft in homes in the provincial capital.
The individuals who stole sold the empty cylinders for 15,000 pesos to the receivers and the full ones for 30,000. The latter, in turn, resold them at even higher prices, "with a profit of between 15,000 and 20,000 pesos on each of the incidents,” he stated.
According to the official, the confession of the one identified as the main perpetrator and the reconstruction of the events allowed the authorities to determine that they were operating during the early hours in areas such as the residential neighborhood in front of Rancho Hatuey, Kilo 12, Olivos I, Reparto Escribano, Garaita, Antonio Maceo Park, Avenida de los Mártires, Calle Sobral, and areas close to the Provincial Terminal, the radio station report indicated.
The chief Maikel Pérez Reyes, legal advisor of MININT, described further details about the actions of the gang and the main accused. “They used mobile phones to monitor police movements. An accomplice would alert them about the location of our forces, which allowed the main perpetrator to take alternate routes to evade checkpoints. This is how he transported the stolen bullets to his home.”
According to Pérez Reyes, the group's "sophistication" allowed them to operate from January to May 2025.
The police investigation was initiated upon detecting a growing increase in the theft of small items, authorities noted, while highlighting the collaboration of citizens in clarifying these crimes. "Thanks to anonymous reports, we identified this criminal chain, leading the public to express satisfaction with this blow to crime," stated Rodríguez Carmenate.
The four arrested individuals, whose identities have not been disclosed, are facing charges of burglary and theft in residences, stated the head of the Criminal Investigative Agency.
He added that the MININT requested the Prosecutor's Office to impose a precautionary measure of provisional imprisonment while “further investigating possible links to other crimes and potential perpetrators.”
Radio Sancti Spíritus acknowledged that “without a doubt, the liquefied gas crisis in the province —with interruptions of up to two months in supply— fueled the illegal business.”
During the operation, multiple bullets were recovered, although the station did not specify the amount. The return to their rightful owners will be conducted through the Gas Office in the area.
MININT officials also reported that patrols have been intensified in residential areas of the municipality of Sancti Spíritus during the early morning hours, and self-protection measures are being promoted. “We recommend removing small objects from exposed areas and reporting suspicious sales. Collective vigilance is key,” warned Pérez Reyes.
The actions of this group took place during months when the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) crisis has intensified nationwide, due to the government of Cuba's lack of liquidity to afford domestic fuel.
At the end of May, it was reported that a ship loaded with 1,300 tons of LPG had remained anchored off the coast of Santiago de Cuba for four months because the government did not have the funds to pay for the supply, highlighting serious flaws in the financial and logistical system of the regime.
The prolonged scarcity of liquefied gas in Cuba has left thousands of households without access to this essential resource for cooking for months. This is compounded by the constant and extensive power outages, which force many families to resort to charcoal or firewood as the only alternatives for cooking.
After a long wait and uncertainty for the population in the eastern part of the country, a ship loaded with liquefied gas docked at the Hermanos Díaz Refinery in Santiago de Cuba during the last week of May, after which unloading operations began to restore the supply to homes and entities in the region.
In the middle of that same month, after 54 days of interruption, in the city of Sancti Spíritus the distribution of liquefied gas resumed.
Meanwhile, in the province of Villa Clara, the sale of LPG had to be temporarily suspended due to a technical shutdown of the processing plant, caused by a lack of raw materials, according to official sources. Only essential services and pre-paid deliveries were prioritized.
As June begins, the severe shortage of liquefied gas persists in the country. This week, the authorities of Isla de la Juventud decided to ration the supply of the fuel and limit it, in a first phase, solely to bedridden individuals and patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment.
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