Magical Realism in Cuban Parcel Delivery: Two TVs Sent, Aluminum Profiles Received

Once again, the parcel service of Correos de Cuba finds itself under scrutiny. This time, it's due to a public complaint by Aimeé Plasencia Ferrás, a resident of Santa Marta, Cárdenas, in the province of Matanzas. She received aluminum profiles instead of the two Philips televisions she had sent from Panama.

Plasencia made two shipments from Panama in August 2024. The first, handled by ENA, a seemingly Panamanian company, arrived without issues. However, the second, managed by Correos de Cuba, reached Matanzas on November 21, three months later, and didn't make it to Santa Marta until January 17, despite the short distance of less than 40 kilometers between the locations.

Upon opening the package, the contents did not match what was declared or expected. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Just a few days later, on January 25, another parcel supposed to contain a decoder box arrived without it, as Plasencia revealed in a letter published in the official newspaper Girón's section Apartado 1433.

Frustration with Postal System Transparency

Plasencia is convinced: "It's clear that Correos de Cuba operations involve criminal behavior. Someone, with complete indifference, took the items and replaced them with unrelated pieces—not even accessories for the televisions—mocking the effort I put into purchasing these items, which I did legally in accordance with our country's laws."

Despite filing a complaint at the Santa Marta office, Plasencia has yet to receive a response, not even a phone call confirming that the case is being investigated. "This is neither humane nor ethical nor revolutionary," she lamented, visibly frustrated by the institutional silence.

Correos de Cuba's Accountability Under Question

From the direction of Correos in Matanzas, Yadir E. Laurencio Portelles, the general manager, and Yaneysi Remón Suárez, the operations director, acknowledged the package's delay and stated that the case is being investigated by the Inspection Department. They attributed the delay to "energy issues" at the Postal Classification Center and claimed to have attempted to contact the complainant "several times, without success."

However, beyond these explanations, the reality remains unchanged: items continue to vanish, customers do not receive timely responses, and the service collects complaints as public trust in the Cuban postal system keeps eroding. Will Plasencia be compensated? Will her televisions be replaced with others of equal or similar value? Or will she be left only with apologies?

Ongoing Issues Despite Official Claims

Recently, Correos de Cuba acknowledged that only 0.02% of the over 745,000 shipments handled between 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 were altered, stolen, or lost. Nevertheless, they shifted responsibility onto postal and customs operators, noting that shipments pass through both foreign and Cuban hands before arriving in the country.

In late 2024, the Cuban government boasted improvements in parcel delivery with just 72 annual complaints. While official reports highlight a reduction in claims and logistical advances, structural issues persist, with high demand and ongoing public complaints about delays and, notably, content theft in packages, undermining the regime's official narrative.

In December, a resident of Los Arabos in Matanzas reported a case of theft and tampering with a package sent from Mexico by her husband, who is on a mission there, after retrieving it from a Correos de Cuba office. Months earlier, a Cuban woman in Spain, identified as Idisleidys Sosa, reported sending a phone to her uncle in Perico, Matanzas, only for him to receive the phone box filled with screws and chicken stock cubes instead.

A similar incident occurred in Cárdenas, where a woman reported that after receiving a package through Correos de Cuba, she found a bag of screws used to fill the package after part of the original contents were removed.