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The Supreme People's Court (TSP) of Cuba announced on Monday the sentences against former Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil Fernández, who faced two separate criminal proceedings for “offenses considered to be of extreme severity” and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The rulings issued detail a wide range of crimes, several of them of a continuing nature and with a direct impact on state security, the national economy, and public administration.
The oral hearings took place from November 11 to 13, 2025, and from the 26th to the 29th of the same month. Following the aforementioned qualifications, the ousted leader, a former man of power within the communist regime of Havana, received a sentence of life imprisonment in one case, and 20 years in prison in the second, in addition to auxiliary penalties.
First process: espionage, bribery, and manipulation of official documents
In the first criminal case, the Court declared Gil Fernández responsible for the following crimes:
Espionage
Acts detrimental to economic activity or contracting
Bribery
Removal and damage of documents or objects under official custody
Violation of official seals (continued offense)
Violation of classified document protection regulations (continuing offense)
Due to the accumulated severity of these offenses, particularly concerning the espionage component and the handling of classified information, the Court imposed a joint sentence of life imprisonment.
Second process: forgery, influence peddling, and tax evasion
In a (second) separate case, Gil was found guilty of:
Continued bribery, used as a means to
Forgery of public documents
Traffic of influences (continued)
Tax evasion (continued)
For this second reason, the Court imposed a joint sentence of 20 years of imprisonment.
Accessory sanctions: confiscations and prohibitions
In both processes, the accused was imposed additional sanctions, including:
Confiscation of assets
Prohibition on performing functions related to the administration of human, material, or financial resources
Deprivation of public rights, among other measures established by law
The TSP indicated that these decisions are based on Articles 147 of the Constitution and 71.1 and 29 of the Penal Code, as they assess "the social harm" of the actions.
The verdict: betrayal, corruption, and illegal handling of sensitive information
According to the official note, Gil exploited the powers of his position to gain personal benefits, receive money from foreign companies, and bribe other officials to legalize the acquisition of assets.
Moreover, he violated protocols for handling classified information, removed it and damaged it, and ultimately made it available to "enemy services," which the Court classified as behavior indicative of espionage and treason.
The TSP stated that these behaviors represent a "moral, ethical, and political degradation," and reminded that Article 4 of the Constitution establishes that treason to the homeland is the most serious crime, subject to the harshest penalties. It also pointed out that these actions violate the United Nations Convention against Corruption, to which Cuba is a signatory.
Procedural rights and appeals
The defendant and the Prosecutor's Office have ten days to file the appeals established by law. Even if no appeal is made against the life sentence, the Court is legally obligated to review that sanction on its own initiative.
Once the appeals are concluded, and if the guilt is confirmed, a single penalty will be established in accordance with Article 86 of the current Penal Code.
The statement concludes by noting that throughout the proceedings, both the accused and their lawyers acknowledged the adherence to the procedural guarantees established in the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Law.
Gil Fernández, who was one of the most visible figures in Miguel Díaz-Canel's cabinet, had fallen from grace in early 2024 when he was dismissed without explanation.
His trial became one of the most publicized in recent times, reminiscent of the political trials of the Soviet era, where "treason" served as a pretext to punish the collapse of the system.
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