Executives connected to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump traveled to Cuba in recent months to explore business opportunities and held meetings with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Raúl Castro known as "El Cangrejo," according to an investigation published this Thursday by The Guardian.
The contacts would have been made under the umbrella of Dominari Holdings, a company based in Trump Tower in New York, and were focused on potential business in the Cuban hotel sector, according to the report authored by Lee Schlenker and Ed Augustin.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump joined the advisory board of Dominari in February 2025 and jointly own a 13.4% stake in the company, according to regulatory documents cited by the newspaper.
Interest in Cuban hotels arises following the withdrawal of foreign companies such as Meliá and Iberostar, which completed their exit from the island in July, amidst the tightening of U.S. sanctions against GAESA, the business conglomerate controlled by the Cuban military.
The interlocutor in these contacts is also not a minor figure within the power structure of Havana. “El Cangrejo” is an official of MININT, head of personal security for his grandfather, and son of Déborah Castro Espín and the late General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, who presided over GAESA.
Rodríguez Castro has gained prominence as a key interlocutor in the contacts between Washington and Havana. In May, the director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, met with him in the Cuban capital, after Axios reported on secret conversations between Castro's grandson and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The investigation by The Guardian goes beyond the hotel sector and describes entrepreneurs, investors, and lobbying firms linked to political circles in Washington and Florida who are exploring opportunities involving Cuban assets amid U.S. sanctions and a potential political change on the island.
Among them are Texas businessmen Ray Washburne and Albert Huddleston, who, according to the newspaper, submitted competing bids to acquire the stake of Canadian Sherritt International in their nickel and cobalt joint venture with the Cuban government.
Also present is the Australian Antilles Gold, sanctioned in June for its operations in Cuba, which reportedly received authorization from the Trump administration to negotiate the transfer of its stake in a copper and gold mine to the Global Emerging Markets fund, based in New York.
The movement of U.S. capital towards Cuba also extends to the energy sector. Exports of oil authorized by the Department of the Treasury intended for the Cuban private sector have surpassed 160 million dollars in 2026, according to data cited in the report.
The Guardian also mentions Continental Strategy, a lobbying firm led by individuals politically connected to Rubio, which was hired in July by Vima World SL, a Spanish company that the newspaper associates with GAESA. The contract was terminated that same month after the firm received nearly $40,000.
The scenario reflects the convergence between the tightening of U.S. sanctions, the withdrawal of foreign companies, and the interest of American entrepreneurs and investors in strategic businesses and assets in Cuba.
Erik Cartelle, a consultant quoted by The Guardian who works to connect figures from the exile community with the Department of State, stated that there are clients interested in doing business in a politically different Cuba, although he emphasized that any potential agreement must take into account the Cuban diaspora.
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