The new Minister of Foreign Trade is the great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro

The Cuban regime appointed engineer Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga as the new Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, replacing Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, who will continue to serve as Deputy Prime Minister of the Government, according to the official newspaper Periódico Invasor.

According to that state media, the Council of State, at the proposal of President Miguel Díaz-Canel and with the prior approval of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), "agreed to make the following personnel changes."

Pérez-Oliva Fraga, 53 years old, is a electronic engineer and has over 15 years of experience in managing activities related to foreign trade. Prior to his promotion, he served as the first deputy minister of the organization and was the business evaluation director in the Mariel Special Development Zone.

According to official information, Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez has also been appointed as the new first deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX). Jorge Méndez, 36 years old, holds a degree in Economics and has held various responsibilities within the sector, including advisor to the minister and general director of Foreign Investment.

Beyond the government statement, various sources indicate that Pérez-Oliva Fraga is the son of biologist Mirsa Fraga Castro and the grandson of Angelita Castro, who passed away in 2013 and was the older sister of Fidel and Raúl Castro Ruz. He is also the nephew of José Antonio Fraga Castro, who served as president of the state pharmaceutical group Labiofam until 2014.

During his career, Pérez-Oliva was Director of Business for the Special Development Zone of Mariel under the supervision of the late General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, known as the “czar of GAESA” and former son-in-law of Raúl Castro. He later rose to the position of First Deputy Minister of MINCEX, a role he held until his current ministerial promotion.

Although the note from Invasor highlights his "extensive managerial experience" and technical training, the appointment reinforces the regime's tendency to keep figures closely linked to the Castro family and the military-business conglomerate that controls a significant part of the Cuban economy in strategic positions.

These changes occur amid a severe economic crisis, marked by declining exports, a lack of foreign currency, and rising social tensions, as the Government seeks to project an image of renewal without altering the power structure that has dominated the country for more than six decades.