The former Minister of Economy of Cuba, Alejandro Gil Fernández, could face life imprisonment and an additional 30 years in prison in a second trial that the regime is preparing in strict secrecy, according to revelations made by his sister, María Victoria Gil, in an interview with Martí Noticias.
"The family, María Victoria told journalist Mario J. Pentón, claims to have learned through unofficial channels the extent of the requested sentences, while still lacking formal access to the case file."
María Victoria claims that the prosecutor's request for the crime of spying includes life imprisonment, and that a separate trial for economic crimes could demand up to three decades of imprisonment.
That new trial is about to take place, although the authorities have not announced any date or details. “I have information that the trial is imminent. Possibly this week,” he said.
The hermeticism is absolute. No one in the family has received official documents, and as the sister explains, Cuban legislation does not require that relatives have access to the prosecutor's provisional conclusions.
Neither the prosecution nor the Ministry of the Interior has issued a single public statement regarding the charges. The case is moving in the typical shadows of political processes on the island, he noted.
The family suspects that the case will once again be handled behind closed doors, similar to the recently held espionage trial. According to María Victoria, there are too many high-ranking officials involved and too much sensitive information to allow observers.
“My brother wants to speak, and of course, they will silence him,” she stated. The possibility of figures such as Manuel Marrero or even Miguel Díaz-Canel appearing as witnesses has not been ruled out.
The economic crimes attributed to Gil, says his sister, stem from his time as the manager of the maritime insurance company Caudal in the United Kingdom, where he lived a standard of living that starkly contrasts with the Cuban reality.
Authorities are also investigating his family, whose homes were searched without prior notice and whose electronic devices were confiscated.
Although the ex-minister's wife was released after spending four months detained in a Ministry of Interior visitation house, the family remains under pressure. The ex-minister's niece claims to feel watched by a car that constantly follows her, a pattern reminiscent of the typical practices of the Cuban repressive apparatus.
The second trial against Alejandro Gil comes at a time of national collapse, with endless blackouts, runaway inflation, and increasing social discontent.
For the family of the former minister, the judicial offensive is nothing more than a political maneuver to divert attention and find a single person to blame for a disaster that was designed and approved by the entire leadership. The sentence, warns his sister, is already written.
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