Cattle theft in Cuba doubled during 2022, according to data from the Department of agriculture (MINAG) released this Monday by the official media cubadebate.
Last year the theft of 82,445 head of cattle (43,315 cows and 37,130 horses, among others) was reported, when in 2021 they had closed at 33,690 (with 17,144 cows and 16,546 horses), the report points out.
? “Animal owners are very disappointed. Life in the countryside and dealing with animals is not easy, so that they are also stolen from you, and then what happens, justice is not done. If the laws do not change, or become stronger , We are lost”.https://t.co/Opk6lD4ZrB
— Cubadebate (@cubadebatecu) April 24, 2023
The MINAG livestock director, Adrián Gutiérrez Velázquez, revealed that the excessive increase had begun in June 2022, reaching peaks of up to 10,000 heads per month.
The territories with the highest numbers of these events are Villa Clara, Holguín, Matanzas, Cienfuegos and Las Tunas.
The crime is much more complex, since it not only involves the theft of cattle, but is also linked to acts of violence.
Gutiérrez Velázquez, added that “although we see it as something current, the real problem It is the impact that it will have on livestock in the future”.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the thefts of 2022 represent “5,000 tons of boneless meat” or around almost one kilogram of meat per inhabitant in a year.
The thefts, explains the work signed by several journalists, have a great economic cost for the farmers, since the animals can be sold for between 20,000 and 40,000 pesos, but it also implies a loss of time.
“At least three years of work are invested to develop these animals of high genetic value,” explained Denis Sixto Rodríguez, director of Finca Corralito, of the Camilo Cienfuegos Genetic Livestock Company.
The perception of the increase in crime and violent robberies, in the countryside and the city, has increased in recent months in Cuba, a traditionally safe country in the Latin American context. The Cuban government does not publish crime statistics, says Efe.
Cuba: the figures for theft and slaughter of large cattle soar
Cuba is going through a deep economic crisis due to the combination of realities such as the coronavirus pandemic, the tightening of US sanctions and errors in national economic and monetary policies.
The situation is evidenced by a serious shortage of basic products and inflation that has doubled prices in 24 months in the formal market.
