The Supreme People's Court of Cuba has scheduled the start of the oral trial against Alejandro Miguel Gil Fernández, former Minister of Economy and Planning, for this Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., according to an official note released this Monday.
The process will take place in the Room for Crimes Against State Security, and will be conducted under strict confidentiality measures.
The statement indicates that, “for reasons of National Security, only the parties and individuals authorized by the court will be allowed to attend the trial”, in accordance with what is established in Article 153 of the Cuban Constitution and Article 477.1 of the Criminal Procedure Law.
It was also reported that both the defense attorneys and the accused have had access to the case file and the prosecutor's preliminary conclusions, and that the Defense's conclusions have also been submitted.
This will be the first of two legal proceedings that Gil Fernández is facing, and the most serious of the two: a charge of espionage, a crime for which the Cuban Prosecutor's Office is seeking life imprisonment.
Multiple accusations and an unprecedented political downfall
Gil Fernández was dismissed from his positions as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Planning on February 2, 2024, and a little over a month later, on March 7, it was revealed that he was under criminal investigation.
According to official information, the former minister acknowledged "serious accusations" and submitted his resignation from the Communist Party of Cuba and his seat in the National Assembly of People's Power.
The Attorney General's Office of the Republic confirmed on October 31 that it had taken public legal action against Gil Fernández and others involved, following the conclusion of investigations conducted by the Ministry of the Interior.
The invoice mentions an extensive list of crimes attributed to the former minister: Espionage; Embezzlement; Bribery; Tax evasion; Money laundering; Falsification of public documents; Removal and damage of documents or objects under official custody; Influence peddling; and Acts detrimental to economic activity or contracting.
Violation of classified document protection regulations
The Prosecutor's Office requested prison sentences "in accordance with the crimes committed" and emphasized that its actions align with Article 156 of the Constitution, ensuring due process.
The second legal proceeding that Gil Fernández will face is expected to include at least twenty more defendants, according to sources close to the case.
In this other case, the Prosecutor's Office reportedly requested a 30-year prison sentence for the former minister, and it is assumed that it could be conducted in a public hearing.
The other defendants would be facing a minimum of 15 years in prison.
Although the Cuban government has not officially identified the other accused individuals, the independent outlet 14yMedio has noted that among them could be a deputy from the National Assembly and a provincial first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).
CiberCuba attempted to confirm this information with the veteran presenter María Victoria Gil Fernández de Ayala, sister of the former minister, who stated that she does not know who is part of the group of those prosecuted.
The figure of Alejandro Gil: From reformist promise to accused of treason
The case of Alejandro Gil represents one of the most notable downfalls within the upper echelons of the Cuban regime in recent years.
An engineer by training, Gil Fernández was once considered a key figure in the implementation of economic reforms, though he ultimately became the visible face of the failures of Cuba's recent economic model.
During his tenure, the island experienced a significant deterioration of its economy, with widespread blackouts, shortages of food and fuel, the collapse of basic services, and a dramatic decline in agricultural and industrial production.
In December 2023, he had to acknowledge before the National Assembly that the production levels of several food items not only had not met the targets but were also lower than those of 2022.
Furthermore, it was Gil who publicly admitted the failure of the so-called "Tarea Ordenamiento," a monetary restructuring process aimed at unifying exchange rates and revitalizing the economy, but which ended up causing an inflationary spiral and a collapse in the purchasing power of the population.
A trial that will set a precedent
The celebration of the trial for espionage against Alejandro Gil marks an unprecedented political and judicial moment in Cuba's recent history.
Although the regime has prosecuted high-ranking officials in the past for corruption, this is the first time that a former minister is being tried for serious charges such as espionage, with the possibility of a life sentence as a potential outcome.
For the Cuban government, this case provides an opportunity to send a message of "zero tolerance" towards corruption, but it also exposes the deep internal fractures within the state apparatus and the PCC, at a time of profound systemic crisis.
As they await the start of the trial on November 11, Cubans and the international community are closely watching a judicial process that, although behind closed doors, could have far-reaching public, political, and economic repercussions.
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