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A federal judge in Nevada released the Cuban businessman Jorge Javier Rodríguez Cabrera, closely linked to “El Cangrejo,” the powerful grandson of Raúl Castro, in a case that has caused alarm among the exile community due to his connections with the regime's elite and his rapid business ascent in the United States.
According to Martí Noticias, in a text published by journalist Mario J. Pentón, the decision came after the filing of a Habeas Corpus petition, although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opposed even the possibility of granting him residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
Rodríguez Cabrera, who was detained for months by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is one of the owners of Gran Azul LLC, a rapidly growing company in the United States focused on shipping, logistics, tourism, and the sale of cars related to Cuba.
The defense dismantles the argument of the "diplomatic email."
In judicial documents reviewed by Martí Noticias, the defense questions the main basis used by ICE to justify his detention: his past as a diplomatic courier for the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX).
Although ICE described him as a man with "close ties to the Cuban government," his lawyers insist that that role ended nearly eight years ago and that his diplomatic passport expired in 2017.
A powerful law firm is leading the case
The businessman is represented by Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A., one of the most influential immigration law firms in the United States. The firm is led by Ira Kurzban, who is married to Cuban-American lawyer Magda Montiel Davis, remembered in Miami for kissing Fidel Castro and calling him "master" during an event in Havana in 1994, as reported by the aforementioned media outlet.
From regime diplomat to asylum seeker
Rodríguez Cabrera was arrested in June 2025, after requesting political asylum in the United States after entering through the southern border in 2022. He claimed persecution by the very regime he served, despite previous investigations directly linking him to the elite in power in Cuba.
Martí Noticias and its journalist Pentón on their social media previously revealed their connections with the Castro family and their role in the creation of Gran Azul LLC, raising suspicions about the presence of funds linked to the regime in exile businesses.
A rising company and unanswered questions
Gran Azul LLC, registered in Nevada in November 2024, rapidly expanded with locations in Miami, Orlando, Houston, Phoenix, and Fort Myers. Rodríguez Cabrera is listed as the manager and Marcel Blanco Fernández as a member, suggesting co-ownership.
"Gran Azul grew like foam, but no one knows where that money came from," commented a source from the logistics sector.
Luxury, yachts, and the shadow of "El Cangrejo"
In 2023, América TeVé released videos showing Rodríguez Cabrera on a yacht alongside Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, enjoying lobsters and drinks—a privilege that is nonexistent for the majority of Cubans, who are prohibited from accessing private vessels.
Family sources claim that the relationship between the two began through Sheyla Puentes, the mother of Raúl Castro's granddaughters. Although that relationship ended, the friendship with "El Cangrejo" continued: "He would send him on errands and shopping trips to the United States and Mexico," revealed an associate.
Silence, disappearance on social media, and concern in exile
Pentón has reiterated that Rodríguez Cabrera has avoided all interviews. A man who answered his phone number denied knowing him, and his Instagram account disappeared shortly after. His alleged partner, Marcel Blanco Fernández, blocked all contact after the first attempt at communication.
The lack of transparency regarding his fortune and the operations of Gran Azul LLC has raised increasing alarm within the Cuban exile community, where many fear that this is yet another example of the infiltration of Castroism into U.S. territory.
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