Sandro Castro, grandson of Fidel Castro, reacted this Friday with a series of Instagram stories filled with crab emojis and satirical scenes generated by artificial intelligence, in a direct reference to Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, nicknamed "The Crab," who gave his first public interview to The National on the same day.
Sandro's posts on his account do not mention Raúl Guillermo by name, but the message is unmistakable: dozens of smiling anthropomorphic crabs fill the images, accompanied by a shower of crab emojis at the bottom of each story.
The first image, generated by AI, depicts a monumental scene titled «REINO DE CAZORLA»: a palace illuminated with fireworks, a crowd of crabs with human expressions, and banners that repeat the names «CRISTACH» and «PRESENTÍN», alongside the slogan «WITH EVERYONE AND FOR THE GOOD OF EVERYONE» on red posters.
The second story adopts the aesthetic of a superhero poster: a Caribbean beach with a colonial building in the background, but flanked by American stores—Walmart, KFC, Chase Bank, and McDonald's—and mechanical creatures resembling crabs and scorpions on both sides of the composition.
The trigger for the publications was the interview that Raúl Guillermo granted this Friday to The National, marking the first time that the colonel from the Ministry of the Interior has appeared before an international media outlet.
In that interview, "El Cangrejo" defended the so-called "new economic model" of the regime and the 176 economic measures promoted by Havana, promised greater openness to private investment without renouncing the political system, and sent a signal to Washington: "Cuba wants a relationship [with the U.S.]," but cautioned that "Cuba will not accept impositions."
Raúl Guillermo is the son of Débora Castro Espín and the late General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, former head of the military business conglomerate GAESA. Since 2016, he has led the General Directorate of Personal Security for Raúl Castro within MININT, and in 2026 he has gained prominence as an emerging figure of power in Cuba.
In May 2026, the CIA director met in Havana with "El Cangrejo", which strengthened speculation about his role as an informal channel between Havana and Washington.
It is notable that when the U.S. sanctioned Díaz-Canel, Lis Cuesta, and Alejandro Castro Espín in June 2026, among others, "El Cangrejo" was excluded from the list, a fact that some analysts attributed specifically to that intermediary role.
Sandro Castro, with over 164,000 followers on Instagram, is known for his indirect political commentary style through humor.
He has declared "revolutionary yes, communist no," publicly mocked Díaz-Canel, and sparked controversy by liking a post critical of Fidel Castro.
Sandro's reaction to "El Cangrejo's" first public appearance in international media suggests that, even within the Cuban nomenclature itself, Raúl Guillermo's emergence as a visible figure does not go unnoticed.
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