A representative from the Ideological Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) spoke out publicly in defense of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro -known as El Cangrejo- and confirmed that Raúl Castro's grandson serves as the official negotiator for the regime in Washington by mandate of "the highest leadership of the country."
Elier Ramírez Cañedo, also a representative in the National Assembly, published a post on Facebook where he described the criticisms aimed at him as "manipulations and lies" and "yellow journalism," while openly acknowledging the existence of secret communication channels between Havana and successive U.S. administrations.
Ramírez Cañedo's intervention represents the first explicit defense of the regime's ideological apparatus regarding the role of El Cangrejo, a colonel from the Ministry of the Interior without an elected government position, who, as now confirmed by the PCC itself, is negotiating Cuba's future with the White House.
"The manipulations and lies, the yellow journalism surrounding Raúl Guillermo, as the interlocutor on the Cuban side, by decision of the highest leadership of the country, serve that objective," wrote Ramírez Cañedo, referring to what he described as a "media operation from the United States" with "assassinations of reputation" aimed at fracturing the Cuban leadership.
The official also accused the Trump administration of being "irresponsible and indiscreet during the process, causing leaks that put it at risk and generate uncertainty about its true intentions."
To top it off, he boasted of the "unbreakable" unity of the revolution, which he claims represents the connection between the historical generation and the new leadership.
The post by Ramírez Cañedo was supported by Abel Prieto, a historical figure of Castroism, who shared it with the comment: "Thank you, Elier, for that precise and necessary text. Today, more than ever, it is essential to preserve unity and avoid falling into the traps set by our enemies. They shall not pass!"
The official defense confirms what the trajectory of El Cangrejo had already indicated: that real power in Cuba does not reside with Miguel Díaz-Canel - whom Rodríguez Castro referred to as "Miguelito" in the interview with USA Today - but rather within the family circle of Raúl Castro and in GAESA, the military conglomerate that controls between 50% and 80% of the Cuban economy, inherited by El Cangrejo from his father, the late General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja.
The post comes days after El Cangrejo declared to USA Today its willingness to negotiate directly with Trump about the future of the Island, sparking a wave of outrage both within and outside Cuba.
The controversy was further fueled by the contrast between El Cangrejo's luxury lifestyle -Rolex watches, Hermès sneakers, Salvatore Ferragamo briefcases- and the reality of Cubans, who survive on salaries ranging from 10 to 15 dollars a month and endure power outages of over 30 consecutive hours.
The outrage spread even among figures aligned with the regime: the singer-songwriter Israel Rojas publicly apologized for having been "naive" for not believing for years the accusations about the privileges of the elite, and the mother of the head of Communication at the Palace of the Revolution posted on Facebook: "Can someone please bring this young man down to earth? Can someone tell him to be quiet?".
Israel Rojas questioned the role of El Cangrejo, joining a week of criticisms that the Party apparatus is now trying to frame as an external conspiracy, while Cuba experiences its seventh total blackout in 18 months and faces a projected economic contraction of -6.5% for 2026.
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