Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as “El Cangrejo,” is a prominent member of the Castro elite in Cuba, the grandson of former leader Raúl Castro and the son of Débora Castro Espín and the late General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, who headed the powerful military conglomerate GAESA that controls a significant portion of the Cuban economy and in whose social and economic environment Rodríguez Castro grew up.
In recent years, he has gained notoriety not only for his privileges, luxurious lifestyle, and frequent private trips to Panama and other countries in stark contrast to the social crisis on the island, but also for his role as a high-ranking state security official and personal bodyguard to Raúl Castro. Recent news indicates that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made discreet contacts with Rodríguez Castro as part of unofficial dialogues seeking to explore potential political changes in Cuba outside the official channels of the Díaz-Canel regime, generating international media attention. This profile positions him as a figure of power directly linked to the Castro family core and to the networks of economic and political influence of the Castro regime, with repercussions both on and off the island.
