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The revelations that the administration of President Donald Trump is maintaining conversations with figures close to the real power in Cuba have raised new questions about who within the regime is participating in these contacts.
The Republican congressman Mario Díaz-Balart assured the newspaper Miami Herald that Washington has held discussions with "multiple individuals around Raúl Castro," describing it as high-level exchanges, although he emphasized that these are not formal negotiations.
“There have been conversations with multiple people around Raúl, essentially with everyone close to Raúl, at the highest level, but they are not negotiations,” affirmed the Cuban American legislator this Wednesday.
The statement suggests that the contacts are not limited to a specific figure, but rather encompass various actors in the environment of the nonagenarian general, who is still regarded as the true center of power within the Cuban political system.
Although officially retired since 2021, Raúl Castro, at 94 years old, is still seen as a key figure within the regime's structure. His family and the top military leaders maintain a decisive influence over the country's political and economic apparatus.
Among the figures who typically belong to this inner circle are his son, Colonel Alejandro Castro Espín, regarded as one of the most influential figures within the State security services; his daughters Mariela Castro and Deborah Castro; as well as high-ranking officials linked to the military conglomerate GAESA.
This group controls large sectors of the national economy, including tourism, retail, and much of the currency circulating on the island.
The Miami Herald previously reported that advisors to Secretary of State Marco Rubio met last month with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of Raúl Castro, during a regional conference held on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
However, Díaz-Balart assured that Washington's contacts have been broader than that specific meeting.
The possibility of conversations with the inner circle of the historic leader of the regime has raised concerns among certain sectors of the Cuban exile community in Miami, who fear that a potential agreement could end up preserving the political control of the Castro family or the structure of the Communist Party.
Díaz-Balart himself attempted to alleviate these concerns by stating that the Trump administration does not envision a scenario in which members of the Castro clan remain in power.
“Partial changes are not acceptable. The concept of ‘Raúl without Raúl’ is not acceptable to this administration”, asserted the congressman.
Meanwhile, the Cuban regime has generally acknowledged that there are "conversations" with the United States, although it maintains that there are no official negotiations between the two governments.
The contacts occur at a time of intense pressure on the Cuban dictatorship, amid a deep economic and energy crisis that has caused prolonged blackouts, fuel shortages, and increasing signs of social discontent within the island.
In this context, Raúl Castro's inner circle once again finds itself at the center of political attention, given the possibility that any change in Cuba will inevitably go through the figures who hold real power within the totalitarian system.
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