The Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs of the Cuban Parliament met this Tuesday to analyze the “illegalities” in the country during the first half of 2023. The national situation, which they ended up describing as “of great complexity”, does not bring good news for the public: crime rates continue to rise and the Prosecutor’s Office not enough
Among the cases that require more attention from the Cuban judicial body, and which were listed by the president of the People’s Supreme Court, Rubén Remigio Ferro, are drug trafficking, theft and slaughter of cattle, tax evasion, administrative corruption, theft of state assets and family and gender violence. In the latter case, although they mentioned the issue obliquely, it is worth noting the lack of response from the Government to the growing numbers of femicide about which little is said on official channels and which has already reached 53 women murdered so far this year, according to independent organizations.
Regarding statistics, although a crime rate was not established for the first half of the year, it was confirmed that 1,273 people were tried for illegal cattle slaughter, 360 for crimes associated with drugs, 249 for embezzlement, 4,666 for crimes against property, 52 for illegal economic activity, and 154 for speculation and hoarding. Regarding family violence and sexist violence, no numbers were specified.
“In a general sense, the sanctions policy is complied with. 69.4% of those sanctioned were imposed sentences that imply internment; 21.5%, alternative sanctions, and 9.1%, fines,” Ferro concluded. .
Of the 2,112 prosecutors who should be active at this time, only 1,673 (79%) are in office
Also mentioned at the meeting, albeit with great suspicion, was the inability of the Prosecutor’s Office to deal with the barrage of criminal activities. According to figures offered by Yamila Peña Ojeda, Attorney General of the Republic, of the 2,112 prosecutors who should be active at this time, only 1,673 (79%) are in office. Only 35% of them are involved in criminal proceedings. The prosecutor warned that she was working on the redistribution of the workforce and the preparation of new professionals to more effectively cover the cases.
To resolve the situation, the Prosecutor’s Office promises a strong hand. “When the demonstrations of illegality rise, judicial policy must increase severity and rigor,” said Ferro for his part.
Peña Ojeda also declared that “clarifications were being made within the proper framework” of the criminal and prison policy with the assistance of the Ministry of the Interior to address these prioritized crimes. Instruction 273 of 2022 is a “rigor policy in the face of the most harmful behaviors that affect society and the population,” the president of the Court added later, while ensuring its application not only in the criminal field, but also in the labor field. and mercantile.
“In this rigorous policy we individualize, because it is not strictly for everyone. It is not a blind policy. We must analyze case by case, who these people are, what their circumstances are,” Ferro stressed.
Also present at the debate was Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Minister of Internal Commerce, who gave an account of some measures taken to prevent crime associated with commerce. The operations against colerosthe regulations for the sale of products both in pesos and in MLC and the expansion of electronic payment channels were some of the measures approved.
“At the end of May, the occurrence of 361 criminal acts associated with robberies in warehouses was reported,” said the minister.
“At the end of the month of May, the occurrence of 361 criminal acts associated with robberies in warehouses was reported,” said the minister while pointing to rice, beans, powdered milk, coffee, vegetable oil, sugar, soap and cigarettes as the most affected products. The fractionation in the delivery of these products and their high demand have caused their price in the informal market to increase significantly. The minister exemplified rice, which has reached up to 200 pesos per pound.
The Camagüeyan deputy Lurdelis Cárdenas Jiménez warned of failures in the control of internal corruption that allow these criminal acts to be carried out, on many occasions, with the help of the workers themselves. When these are discovered, they are generally penalized by transferring them to another post, which creates discontent in the population and the perception that they are only “moving the problem from place.”
In relation to ration cards, Díaz Velázquez pointed out that “the number of temporary cards issued has been reduced by 30,709” in Havana thanks to the identification of households with double consumption or with repeated cards.
Regarding port operations, the minister indicated, without giving details about the type of crimes, that up to May 985 “extraordinary events” had been carried out, 245 fewer than in the same period of 2022. However, she estimated that, although the decrease was positive, it was mainly due to the drop in the number of ships arriving at the ports.
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