The lawyer and presenter María Victoria Gil Fernández, sister of the former Cuban Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil Fernández, stated in an interview with CiberCuba that she does not believe her brother has the capacity to have committed the espionage crime for which he is accused.
“It’s just that I don’t see him having even… the character for that,” he said during the conversation with journalist Tania Costa. “To be a spy, you have to be very clever, and my brother is a very noble person. I don’t know, but I don’t see him as capable. I have more character to be a spy than he does.”
Gil explained that he has had no contact with his brother since he was arrested and that he has only learned about his situation through his niece. He reported that Alejandro Gil has been imprisoned since March 7, 2024 in “a maximum security prison,” and was dismissed on February 2 of the same year. “I imagine that he was at home until they arrested him. I came here and lost all contact with my family… maybe out of fear too, because you know that in Cuba, people live in fear,” he said.
María Victoria also noted that she does not plan to return to Cuba, following the statements she has made about her brother and the situation on the island. “My son kept telling me: ‘Mom, do you really think you can leave Cuba without having problems?’ Cuba is not a rule of law state,” she shared.
When asked who might have been his brother's accomplice, he replied, "I have no idea."
The interviewee stated that her relationship with Alejandro has been minimal in recent years and that the family silence has been absolute since his arrest.
The former Cuban Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil Fernández has been in provisional prison since March 2024, accused of espionage and other serious crimes such as embezzlement, bribery, tax evasion, money laundering, and forgery of public documents. According to the Attorney General's Office of the Republic, the actions against Gil were presented on October 31, 2025 before the People's Supreme Court, with a prosecution request for life imprisonment.
The judicial process has been characterized by official secrecy and a lack of public information, which has prompted statements from their immediate family members.
His daughter, Laura María Gil González, has repeatedly called for transparency and a public trial, insisting that her father “will not acknowledge any crime that is not duly proven,” as she explained in her statement “He will not acknowledge any crime he is accused of”. She has also denounced personal attacks and defended the principle of the presumption of innocence.
On her part, María Victoria Gil has expressed concern about her brother's physical and emotional deterioration, stating that “he has lost 50 pounds” and “has lost all his hair in a year.” According to her testimony, the family can only see him “every 15 days, for 15 minutes.”
In another interview with our editorial team, the sister of the former minister confirmed that his bank accounts in Spain were investigated for money laundering, although she clarified that the procedure concluded without objections.
In previous statements, María Victoria Gil claimed that her brother is responsible for the country's economic disaster, but she warned that “his collaborators cannot be his executioners”, referring to the trial that will take place behind closed doors.
The case has generated widespread public attention and occurs amidst the official #CeroImpunidad campaign, promoted by the Communist Party to showcase zero tolerance towards corruption, as public discontent grows over the economic and social crisis the country is experiencing.
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