The grandson of Fidel Castro, Sandro Castro, spoke out this Thursday regarding the sentencing of Anna Bensi and her mother through a video posted on social media in which he urged authorities to implement "an educational measure" instead of a punitive sanction, while echoing the official argument regarding the right to privacy of the MININT agents.
The statement came hours after the People's Municipal Court of East Havana sentenced Anna Bensi and her mother, Caridad Silvente to two years of limited freedom each for the crime of “acts against personal and family intimacy” after recording and sharing on social media a meeting with a sub-officer from the MININT.
"An educational measure can be of much greater value to society than a merely punitive response," Sandro Castro stated in the video, where he also noted, "I don't see why Ana Benzi should be viewed as an enemy."
However, the influencer did not question the judicial process or the conviction, but rather justified the legal framework that supports it: "The officers are people; they are also human beings. We cannot, in our desire for freedom of expression, trample on the privacy of others."
To illustrate his point, Sandro Castro referred to his own experience: "Sometimes I have been stopped, and I didn't have my documentation because it was left in my father's vehicle or somewhere else, and they took me to the police station. I don't record that event; I just defend my rights."
Fidel Castro's grandson acknowledged that Bensi is "quite intellectual, quite educated" and that, in his opinion, she acted "in good faith," although he added, "we need to see later with what intention they spread it," referring to the dissemination of the agent's video.
His position contrasts with that of artists, religious leaders, and lawmakers who supported Bensi unconditionally.
The Cuban-American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar described the process as "a desperate act of a dying dictatorship attempting to intimidate and silence the Cuban people," while the U.S. Embassy in Cuba responded with a straightforward message: "Thinking differently is not a crime."
The case originated on March 10th, when the officer Yoel Leodán Rabaza Ramos went to the home of both to deliver a summons from State Security, and mother and daughter recorded the encounter.
The case was initially archived and reopened in July following a complaint from the agent himself, who had previously demanded "a video of public apology to restore his reputation."
The court session was marked by a significant police operation: the evangelical pastor Rolando Fidel Pérez Lora was arrested while trying to reach the court, as was the Christian activist David Espinosa Martínez.
Despite the blockade, Bensi arrived at the court to applause and declared, "We are not criminals" before entering.
After hearing the verdict, the young woman described it as "an injustice" and concluded with a phrase that encapsulated her stance on the ruling: "God is in control."
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