The statements of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of Raúl Castro and known as "El Cangrejo," in his first interview with a U.S. media outlet, granted to and published this Monday, have sparked a wave of indignation among Cubans.
The phrase that set social media ablaze was spoken while wearing Hermès sneakers, a Hugo Boss t-shirt, and a Rolex Submariner watch: "It pains me that people cannot live like I do. My greatest sorrow is that people struggle. But I get up every day to change that situation."
The response from the Cubans was swift and strong.
"Let them live a month like we do," wrote one. "That's not called pain, it's called disconnection," another replied.
"Let them go hungry for a month and then share their opinion," "let them try to live on 2,000 pesos a month," and "let them endure a 72-hour blackout" were some of the comments that proliferated on social media.
The contrast between his words and his lifestyle became unbearable for thousands of people who survive on salaries equivalent to between 10 and 15 dollars per month and endure power outages of 23 consecutive hours or more.
The interview took place over two days in June in Havana, from the office that once belonged to his grandfather in the Palacio de Convenciones, the seat of the Cuban parliament.
"The Crab" completed his outfit with a gold chain and a medallion dedicated to Fidel and Raúl Castro, and kept his classified reports in a Salvatore Ferragamo leather briefcase.
This very Monday when the interview was published, Cuba experienced its seventh total blackout in 18 months, with the electrical system generating only 935 megawatts against a demand of 3,100 MW, leaving 71% of the country without electricity.
In the same interview, "El Cangrejo" presented himself as a possible interlocutor with Washington: "I can negotiate with anyone appointed by the U.S. if given the opportunity, of course with Trump."
At the same time, he made it clear that he would not abandon the principles of Castroism and uttered a phrase with a tone of dynastic succession: "I have never been interested in politics. It has never been my vocation. But if at any moment the revolution needs me, I will step up."
That last statement was publicly questioned by the comedian Ulises Toirac, who asked on Facebook this Tuesday: "What is the revolution that decides who should step forward and who should step back?", pointing out that this concept is nothing more than the camouflage of a dictatorship without a democratic mandate.
"El Cangrejo" has been a colonel in the Ministry of the Interior and the head of the General Directorate of Personal Security for Raúl Castro since 2016.
He is the son of the late Major General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, who led GAESA, the business conglomerate of the Armed Forces of the regime, which controls a substantial part of the Cuban economy.
According to a journalistic investigation, "El Cangrejo" made at least 23 private jet trips to Panama between 2024 and the end of 2025.
Frank Mora, a professor at Florida International University, summarizes it this way in statements to USA Today: “He is the favorite grandchild. Raúl Castro trusted his father, and he is the grandchild he loves the most.”
For the thousands of Cubans who stand in endless lines, eat whatever they can find, and live in darkness, their words about the "pain" of seeing the people suffer did not evoke empathy, but rather anger.
"The problem is that he has never lived like the people," wrote one of the commentators on social media. "He should remove his bodyguards and go out alone," added another.
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