Miami, United States. – The Chamber of Crimes against the Security of the State of the Popular Provincial Court of Santiago de Cub Cannabis sativa (dope).
Both judgments were qualified by the authorities as “exemplary” and were framed within the actions of the Cuban regime to harden the confrontation to the use of illicit drugs.
In the first case, a 28 -year -old, a native of Baire, was sanctioned to nine years in prison after being accused of marketing marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids in several popular councils of the Municipality Contramestre. According to The note published on the Facebook page of the Courtthe accused was arrested on July 1, 2024 during an operation while traveling on a bus between Palma Soriano and contrama. In their possession they were found “two Bombón -type wrappers, with 3.56 grams of marijuana and 1.83 grams of synthetic cannabinoid.”
The accusation was based on article 235.1 subsection a) of the Cuban Criminal Code, which includes sanctions between four and ten years of deprivation of liberty for crimes related to drug trafficking. According to the Court, “the defendant was proven to be dedicated to the commercialization of the aforementioned drugs” and that he maintained links with other individuals “controlled by traffic and marijuana cultivation.”
As additional sanctions, the prohibition of exit of the country was imposed, the deprivation of certain rights and the confiscation of both substances and money allegedly generated by their sale.
In The second caseanother 29 -year -old was sentenced to eight years in prison for the cultivation of a 1.50 -meter high marijuana plant and the possession of 286.7 grams of dry leaves in their home, located in the sorcerer, kilometer 10 and a half of the Siboney road. The authorities indicated that the accused had been “controlled by drug confrontation officers” since August 2024, and that he was dedicated to cultivation “with the aim of obtaining illicit profits.”
The Court indicated that it was an “oral and public trial” made within the framework of the so -called “Drug confrontation exercise that takes place throughout the country”, a national campaign that has been criticized for its use of disproportionate measures. Although marijuana is not among the most addictive or lethal substances according to international standards, Cuban authorities consider their possession, cultivation or commercialization as a threat to state security.
Both publications of the Court underline that “procedural guarantees and respect for due process enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba and the Law of the Criminal Procedure were fulfilled”, although human rights defenders have questioned the transparency and impartiality of the Cuban judicial system, especially in causes linked to crimes considered sensitive by the regime.
Both the sanctioned and the Prosecutor’s Office have the right to appeal the judicial decisions. However, in a context marked by repression, the lack of judicial independence and the penalty of personal consumption, these processes reinforce severe punishment policy against minor crimes, instead of adopting approaches focused on public health and individual rights.
