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The Republican congressman Mario Díaz-Balart reacted harshly this Friday to the revelation that the mother-in-law of Alejandro Castro Espín —son of Raúl Castro and brigadier general of the Cuban regime— resides in Miami and frequently travels to Cuba.
In his X account, Díaz-Balart directly cited the exclusive from Martí Noticias about Castro Espín's mother-in-law and wrote: "I repeat again: the henchmen of the Castro regime and those who have profited at the expense of the oppressed Cuban people have no place in the United States!"
The investigation by journalist Mario J. Pentón identified Ana Adis Cardero Pacheco as the mother-in-law of Castro Espín, and the mother of his wife Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero.
According to sources verified by Martí Noticias, Cardero Pacheco first arrived in the United States in 2013 with a tourist visa granted in Mexico, remained in the country illegally, and obtained permanent residency in 2023 through the Cuban Adjustment Act.
Since then, he/she has continued to travel to Cuba frequently.
Her other daughter, Meurys Yisell Rueda Cardero —sister-in-law of Castro Espín— also resides in South Florida and is already a U.S. citizen.
"Ana A. Cardero Pacheco and her daughter Meurys Yisell Rueda Cardero live in Hialeah, the city with the highest concentration of Cuban exiles in the United States. Additionally, Castro Espín's sister-in-law is listed as the owner of a company registered in Florida," explained Luis Domínguez, a researcher at the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba.
The revelation exposes a glaring contradiction: the political family of one of the regime's main security strategists is benefiting from the country's migration system that Havana refers to as "the empire."
The patriarch of the family, Colonel Hugo Leandro Rueda Jomarrón, was one of the founders of the Eastern Army and the Revolutionary National Militias. According to Domínguez, "he organized the repression of dissent, property confiscations, and the militia system to supposedly confront the U.S." for decades in Santiago de Cuba.
In 2012, Ana Adis Cardero Pacheco, her two daughters, and Colonel Rueda Jomarrón signed a letter of support for then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that stated: "Count on us, President Chávez; your victory will be our victory."
In 2006, Cardero Pacheco herself had signed another letter accusing the United States government of tolerating "terrorist groups of Cuban-American origin based in Miami."
Díaz-Balart's statement comes one day after Washington sanctioned Alejandro Castro Espín along with Miguel Díaz-Canel and Lis Cuesta, in a wave that adds to more than 240 sanctions accumulated since January 2026 against the Cuban regime.
That same week, the U.S. also sanctioned the Ministry of the Armed Forces and warned those doing business with GAESA and MININT about the legal consequences.
Díaz-Balart has maintained a position of maximum pressure against Havana throughout 2026. In February, he stated that the Cuban regime has "never been so weak", and in March, he asserted that "there is no negotiation or immunity" for Raúl Castro or Díaz-Canel.
The case of Cardero Pacheco highlights the contradictions of the Cuban Adjustment Act when its beneficiaries are direct relatives of the elite that oppresses the Cuban people, precisely the argument that Díaz-Balart has been presenting in Congress for months.
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