Washington has just tightened its grip on the Cuban power circle, but one key figure remains untouched: Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo," grandson of Raúl Castro and head of his personal security within MININT, is conspicuously absent from the new round of sanctions published yesterday by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury.
In that list, OFAC included the president Miguel Díaz-Canel, his wife Lis Cuesta Peraza, his stepson Manuel Anido Cuesta —a resident of Madrid—, Alejandro Castro Espín (alias "El Tuerto," son of Raúl Castro and a key figure in the Cuban intelligence apparatus), and the son of the latter, Raúl Alejandro Castro Caliz.
Institutions such as the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), and the mining company Minera La Victoria SA were also sanctioned.
The sanctions involve the blocking of assets and interests under U.S. jurisdiction, as well as prohibiting U.S. citizens, companies, or financial entities from engaging in transactions with those designated.
But "El Cangrejo" doesn't appear. And this isn't the first time: it also wasn't included in the round of sanctions in May, which has raised a question that circulates widely among Cubans both on and off the Island: "So, when will the crab be?"
The most well-documented response points to a strategic reason: the Trump administration reportedly used it as an informal communication channel with the inner circle of Raúl Castro.
In February 2026, Axios revealed contacts between Marco Rubio and "El Cangrejo" regarding a possible transition in Cuba. Washington views Raúl Castro —rather than Díaz-Canel— as the true center of power on the Island, with Rodríguez Castro as his most direct interlocutor.
In April, the Trump administration confirmed a separate meeting with Cuban representatives in Havana related to the "El Cangrejo" environment. That same month, it was reported that Raúl's grandson attempted to send a letter directly to Trump through a messenger linked to the MININT, allegedly to bypass Rubio and reach the president.
Sanctioning "El Cangrejo" would close that informal diplomatic channel. This would explain, at least for now, its deliberate omission from the SDN lists while Washington applies maximum pressure on the rest of the Cuban power structure.
This pattern is part of a sustained escalation since May 1, when Trump signed Executive Order 14404, which established a new sanctions program capable of imposing secondary measures against foreign companies that do business with GAESA.
On May 7, Rubio formalized the first appointments under that framework. OFAC set June 5 as the deadline for foreign companies to cease operations with the Cuban military conglomerate.
«El Cangrejo» is the son of Débora Castro Espín—daughter of Raúl Castro—and the late Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, who was for many years the head of GAESA. His profile positions him as one of the closest men to the real power in Cuba, outside the formal structure led by Díaz-Canel.
As the pressure intensifies on ministers, wives, stepsons, and children, the official question remains unanswered: how long will Washington maintain that channel with the man who protects Raúl Castro's interests?
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