Explainer: Who might the US be talking to in Cuba?

• Summary

• Trump says US and Cuba are in negotiations on unspecified deal

• Raul Castro’s grandson reported to be in talks with Marco Rubio

• Cuba’s government says no talks under way but does not deny back channel

• When it comes to secret diplomacy, Castro family connections matter

HAVANA, March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly the United States is in talks with high-level ​Cuban representatives, and that Cuba is eager to reach a deal to defuse tensions between the two neighbors that have deepened the island’s economic crisis.

The Cuban government ‌has denied any official talks are under way, but has yet to explicitly deny press reports that U.S. officials were in talks with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raul Castro, who is 94 and still wields great influence.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

If talks are taking place, they come at a time when Washington has tightened its economic sanctions on Cuba by imposing a near-total oil blockade, and after the U.S. ​captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, removing a crucial Cuban ally from power.

IS RAUL CASTRO CALLING THE SHOTS?

Raul Castro fought alongside his older brother Fidel in ​the revolution that toppled a U.S. ally in 1959 and served as his brother’s loyal defense minister for decades. He ascended to the ⁠presidency, first on an interim basis when Fidel got sick in 2006, then took over definitively when Fidel retired in 2008. With Fidel’s death in 2016, Raul assumed the mantle ​as the single unifying leader among those loyal to the Cuban revolution.

He still wields influence even after stepping down as president in 2018 and as leader of the Communist Party in 2021, ​since then carrying the honorific title army general.

At his 2018 swearing-in ceremony, current President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Raul Castro “will lead the most important decisions for the present and future of the nation.”

That was on public display as recently as December 2025. As Cuba’s Communist Party prepared to choose Diaz-Canel’s successor at an all-important party congress this year, Raul Castro proposed postponing the congress indefinitely, given Cuba’s economic crisis. The party’s ​Central Committee approved the proposal unanimously.

WHO IS RAUL GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ CASTRO?

Known as “El Cangrejo,” or “The Crab,” because of his hand, Rodriguez Castro, 41, is widely seen as one of his grandfather’s closest ​confidants. As former bodyguard to Raul Castro, he was at his grandfather’s side, sometimes dressed in the military uniform of the Interior Ministry, throughout Raul Castro’s presidency. He has been reported to hold the ‌rank of ⁠lieutenant colonel.

The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a query about Rodriguez Castro’s biography or possible role in negotiations.

Axios, citing three unnamed sources, reported on February 18 that Rodriguez Castro was in secret talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Miami Herald, citing unnamed sources, reported on February 26 that officials close to Rubio met with Rodriguez Castro on the sidelines of a regional Caribbean Community conference in St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Trump administration has been having secret, high-level conversations with several people in Raúl Castro’s inner circle, similar to the ​discussions held in Venezuela before the U.S. captured ​Maduro in a military raid earlier this ⁠year, U.S. Representative Mario Díaz-Balart told the Miami Herald.

Rodriguez Castro is the son of Raul’s daughter Deborah Castro Espin and

That lineage places Rodriguez Castro at the intersection of Cuba’s political leadership and its most powerful economic institution, making him a potentially significant go-between for Washington.

Rodriguez Castro has never spoken publicly nor given interviews.

WHAT OF ALEJANDRO CASTRO ESPIN?

If “El Cangrejo” is acting as a back-channel connection between Havana and Washington, he would be playing a similar role to ⁠that of his ​uncle and Raul Castro’s son, Alejandro Castro Espin, who conducted then-secret negotiations marking a major shift by Washington ​toward Cuba during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Family ties appear to matter. Neither of the younger Castros held a diplomatic job. Raul Castro in turn had been a confidant and adviser to older brother Fidel.

Alejandro Castro Espin, 60, is believed to ​have been sidelined after his father left office, though the Interior Ministry colonel may have ascended to one-star general.

Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Havana; Editing by Christian Plumb and Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

• Suggested Topics:
• Americas

Share

• X

• Facebook

• Linkedin

• Email

• Link

Purchase Licensing Rights

Daniel Trotta

Thomson Reuters

Daniel Trotta is a U.S. National Affairs correspondent, covering race, guns, LGBTQ+ issues, immigration, homelessness and breaking news in the 50 states. Previously based in New York and now in California, Trotta was awarded the NLGJA award for excellence in transgender coverage. He was previously posted in Cuba, Spain, Mexico and Nicaragua, covering top world stories including the normalization of Cuban-U.S. relations and the Madrid train bombing by Islamist radicals.

• Email

• X

• Linkedin