When Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo," appeared before the U.S. media wearing Hugo Boss, Hermès sneakers, and a Rolex Submariner to declare that he "feels very hurt that people cannot live like I do," many Cubans reacted with outrage.
But independent journalism didn't have to wait until July 2026 to document how the Castro family lives: it had already done so in April 2019, with names, addresses, screenshots, and prices.
This investigation, signed by Luis Manuel Mazorra and conducted over several months by a multidisciplinary team, revealed that Vilma Rodríguez Castro —sister of El Cangrejo, daughter of General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja and Déborah Castro Espín, and granddaughter of Raúl— was renting a mansion in the Miramar neighborhood of Havana, through Airbnb for $650 a night, under the name "Casa Vida Luxury Holidays."
The property, located at 20th Street and Seventh Avenue, featured four rooms—two master suites with private terraces and two double rooms—five and a half bathrooms, a jacuzzi, a stocked minibar, a Nespresso coffee maker, and high-quality cotton sheets. The nightly rate was equivalent to almost two years' worth of the average salary of a Cuban, which in 2019 was around 30 dollars per month.
The investigation was reviewed by lawyers before publication, as Airbnb could take legal action against the outlet. Everything had to be verified with screenshots, satellite images, and verifiable booking simulations. Nothing was published without documentary support.
Ernesto Morales, who participated in that investigation, recalled this week all those details in a YouTube video titled "Offended by El Cangrejo: You CANNOT Ignore This," pointing out the contradiction of those who are now outraged: "The thing is, it’s now harder for them to keep silent about all these squandering and embezzlements. But this has always been the case."
The investigation had direct consequences. In September 2019, following the Trump administration's sanctions against the Castro family, Vilma changed her name on Airbnb from "Vilma" — declared as residing in Panama, where she was collecting income — to "Anabel," with a residence in Spain. Sources consulted confirmed that it was the same property owner.
A year later, in September 2020, the U.S. Department of State included the mansion in the List of Prohibited Accommodations in Cuba, marking it as the only private home to be featured on that list. It was estimated that the property generated between $6,000 and $10,000 monthly.
The father of Vilma and El Cangrejo, López-Calleja, led GAESA for 26 years, the military conglomerate that controls between 50% and 80% of business revenue in Cuba and 95% of foreign currency transactions.
He was included in 2016 in the list of the most corrupt men in the world compiled by OCCRP, and the diplomat Roger Noriega identified him as being involved in drug trafficking from Venezuela. His brother appeared in the Panama Papers leading companies in tax havens.
Now, in 2026, the regime intends to legitimize El Cangrejo as a negotiator in front of Washington, with the explicit endorsement of the PCC.
The maneuver has generated an unprecedented stir even within the ruling party itself: the singer-songwriter Israel Rojas publicly apologized for having been "naive" in not believing for years the allegations about the privileges of the elite, and the presenter Michel Torres Corona published an article in a Uruguayan portal —because Cuban television does not allow him to say it— asking: "What justifies their impunity?".
The lingering question is the same one that Morales posed in his video: how is it possible that old communists and Castroite revolutionaries are now crying out in outrage, when independent media have been documenting for years, with evidence, that the Castros govern Cuba as if it were their private estate?
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz responded to critics on July 10, describing the allegations as “a well-designed plan to create uncertainty and distrust” and labeling the criticisms as “character assassinations.” Meanwhile, the family remains the same as always.
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