María Victoria Gil, sister of former Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil, has accused the Cuban regime of "disrespecting" the people by concealing the details of the trial against one of the men who was a key figure in the Government for years.
The lawyer and former television presenter has justified her decision to speak publicly after months of pressure and imposed silence on her family.
“I speak because I hold the truth in my hand and because it seems incredible to me that the people are deprived of the absolute right they have to know the details of a trial concerning economic crimes, corruption, money laundering, influence peddling, among other offenses,” he stated in an interview with journalist Mario J. Pentón for Martí Noticias.
From abroad, where she resides, the sister of the former minister has emphasized that in democratic countries like Spain, even judicial proceedings against high-ranking officials are public.
"The people of Cuba have rights. I live in Spain and learn day by day about all the details of the trials taking place here; the attorney general was disqualified for two years, and all of it was made public, and he is the attorney general... of Spain," he noted.
“What is happening with Cuba? Why are they disrespecting in this way a sacrificed people that fights and suffers every day? Why are they depriving them of the sovereign right to know the details of a media case like this one and of the corruption that one of the most important ministers in the country may have committed?”, he questioned.
Absolute secrecy and closed-door trial
The second trial against Alejandro Gil concluded last Saturday at the Marianao Court in Havana, without official coverage or a single note in the National News of Cuban Television.
He was judged for charges of embezzlement, tax evasion, influence peddling, and money laundering.
María Victoria Gil reported that neither the official press nor the citizens have had access to any information.
“The population hasn’t even received information through the national television news… It’s a disrespect towards the people of Cuba,” she stated.
He added that the trial lasted four days and is now concluded for sentencing, but all the information has been handled with "absolute secrecy," to the extent that Alejandro Gil's own children could only attend after signing a confidentiality agreement.
One of the most explosive elements of his testimony was the confirmation that Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel appeared as a witness for the prosecution against Alejandro Gil.
"The President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel, has appeared in the trial against my brother as a prosecution witness. A prosecution witness is a witness for the accusation," he emphasized.
The revelation is particularly controversial, given the personal and political relationship that connected the two.
"They were one, they were one. My sister-in-law used to tell me, 'They adore each other, they can't live without one another,'" said María Victoria.
"And now, simply to clean up his tarnished image both nationally and internationally, he is willing to testify against my brother as a prosecution witness in a corruption trial. I find it shameful," he added, describing the leader's conduct as a personal and political betrayal.
He recalled that even after his dismissal in February 2024, Díaz-Canel publicly congratulated him for his "excellent work" and invited him to continue working for the revolution.
"My brother is the scapegoat."
Although she acknowledges that her brother committed economic crimes, María Victoria Gil reported that he is being used as a scapegoat to exonerate the system.
"I know my brother committed economic crimes... Power corrupts, and when you're in a corrupt circle, the environment leads you without you even realizing it," he admitted.
"It is impossible that all this corruption has taken place and only Gil is falling… The important ones have vanished along the way, leaving only the lower levels. Here, the only one paying for everything is Alejandro Miguel Gil Fernández," he denounced.
In his words, the judicial process has been a political operation by the leadership to "cleanse its image" while punishing an official who was a structural part of the power apparatus.
Family pressures and the threat of losing everything
According to the former minister's sister, the family has faced pressure to remain silent.
“My niece begged me: ‘Aunt, please don’t talk anymore, because that doesn’t help, it harms my father instead,’” she recounted. However, she decided to speak up:
“The people of Cuba have the right,” she insisted.
Among the possible consequences of the process is the loss of the family home.
"It has been discussed in the trial the confiscation of the house where the family now lives. That house was given to my brother through a state exchange," explained María Victoria, who played an active role in managing that home, inherited from her parents and later swapped for a property in Miramar.
“It’s not a house obtained through ill means (…) They can’t take the house away from him,” he protested, although he acknowledged: “that’s Cuba; they’re going to take it away, because in dictatorships there are no rights.”
"Where are those who honored him now?"
María Victoria also questioned the abandonment of the former allies and beneficiaries of the power that surrounded her brother.
“At what point during these difficult years have they gone to see my brother in prison, or asked my family if he is well?” she wondered, before stating that “those who once honored him and asked for favors are no longer here.”
Despite the institutional secrecy, María Victoria has decided that she will not stop speaking out or demanding justice.
"I announce that I will take this case to the very end, even to the International Court of Justice. And if economic crimes are proven, then everyone who needs to fall will fall," he stated.
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