Actions against the theft of electricity continue in the country. The most recent case occurred in San Marcos, where Héctor “G” was captured during a raid carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime of the Public Ministry (MP), Energuate reported this Sunday, June 21.
According to the information shared by Energuate, the procedure took place on June 18, 2026 in the La Gomera hamlet, Santa Rosa village, municipality of San Lorenzo, department of San Marcos.
The company indicated that the operation was authorized by the San Marcos Court of First Instance for Criminal, Narcoactivity and Crimes against the Environment, as part of an investigation related to alleged illegal connections to the electrical service.
According to Energuate, during the inspection the authorities documented signs of an alleged irregular connection, for which Héctor “G” was captured and placed at the disposal of the competent authorities, accused of the crime of theft through illegal connections.
The distributor pointed out that this case joins other actions undertaken in different departments to combat the theft of electrical energy, a practice that, according to current legislation, constitutes a crime.
Penalties
Energuate recalled that Decree 8-2023 reformed the Penal Code and the Law against Organized Crime, toughening the penalties related to the theft of electrical energy.
“In this new legal scenario, the theft of electrical energy through illegal connections constitutes a flagrante delicto that allows the immediate capture of the offender, who faces a possible sentence of up to eight years in prison,” indicated the distributor’s legal team.
The company added that the reforms reduce procedural benefits and strengthen legal tools to pursue these types of events.
ddepartments with the most cases
According to data from Energuate, at the end of 2025 there were 146,309 clients in conflict conditions, including individual cases, organized communities and areas with difficulties in providing the service.
The distributor reported that San Marcos is among the departments with the highest incidence, with more than 34 thousand cases identified.
Furthermore, he pointed out that in the country there are at least 590 communities with restrictions on carrying out technical work, which makes it difficult to verify facilities and detect possible irregularities.
Energuate stated that illegal connections affect the quality and continuity of service for users who comply with their payments and represent safety risks, such as overloads, fires and electrical accidents.
Prensa Libre consulted the Public Ministry about this case, but they have not responded.
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