Telephone recharging, beer, tequila, and coal: the international business of the Castro family and the leadership of Cuban power

An investigation by the Cuban engineer Norges Rodriguezfounder of Al-Wasila yukabyte He has been in exile since 2016 with the journalist Cynthia de la Canteraexposed International business network of the Castro family And the leadership of the Cuban authorities. Two of his grandchildren Fidel Castro They are in the conspiracy.

The activities of these companies are so diverse that they range from Recharges the phone Until the beerhe tequila And even coal. next to, It has branches in the United States, Mexico, Panama, Spain, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

In conversation with informationRodriguez explained what this network consists of and what its scope is. “This investigation is in cooperation with the Venezuelan portal Armando informationWe started it because we had done a previous one about what the Cuban regime received from it Recharges the phone“, seem.

“They (the regime) started in 2013 offering a service to exiles to pay for cell phones for people who were in Cuba. So, you were in Miami, for example, and you wanted a family member to communicate, and through companies licensed by the Cuban telecommunications monopoly ETECSA, they force you to put $20 or $100 or whatever you want on this relative’s phone and explain that he’s in Cuba so he can communicate.

“So we started investigating. What companies were authorizing They will collect that money from abroad, and this is what is important: We realized that the amount they were getting for this concept was millionaires. We’re talking about that, at one time, they were $1.6 billion annually For recharge and telecommunications related services. “This is where he took on the task of investigating the identity of the people behind those companies,” Rodriguez told this medium.

He was asked about that and he explained that after a period of time. They found a member of the Castro family. “This is where the alarms went off And we said, “Well, this goes beyond just refilling.” He noted that this is a much more interesting story.

“When we found this member of the Castro family, his name is… Hector Castro SantanaHe is one of the key people in this investigation, we realize that The work was broaderwhich not only included RefillsThat there was a trade in importing drinks to Cuba: Beer, tequila and different types of drinks. But there was also A.J Cuban charcoal export business to Europe And there was one of Export of Cuban tropical fruits Description. Towards the ancient continent.

Then he indicated that he had found it Two of Fidel Castro’s grandchildren In these million dollar activities. “One is Sandro Castro Arteaga, which has several very exclusive bars in Havana. Beer was sold and promoted in its pubs. Someone close to him called him Marcos Amoros, they were recently registered in Cuba with something they allow now, which is that private companies can be registered, with quotes, but the majority of these companies, at least the most successful ones, are owned by members of the leadership. This person has also registered a company under the name Depermix In Cuba, it is the same name as others residing in Mexico and Panama who are also called in this way. “So, this is the relationship with Castro.”

Rodriguez explained that when Fidel’s other grandson consulted him information: “its name Antonio Castro Ulloa. This is a model and is linked to the network through it Stepfather. “In other words, it appears that the husband, his mother’s partner, is also linked to this network.”

“That’s how we realized that this story goes beyond just recharging,” he insisted. While he pointed out:This is a story about how descendants of the Castro family were connected to a network of companies Which goes through Mexico, Panama, the United States… And many of these companies are in South Florida, in Miami, where most of the exile community lives. In addition, there are companies in Spain, where the law firm is located. Hector Castro SantanaWhat is this Great-grandson of Raul and Fidel Castro. Mr Hector also has companies in the UK linked to this network. In Switzerland there are also companies.

“As you see, It is a network that travels across several countries. We have come to all this without even realizing it. In other words, we did not go to investigate the family directly, but rather we went to investigate something else related to Cuba, communications, and we found that the family was involved.”

Norges Rodríguez runs YucaByte, a medium founded in 2018 dedicated to issues related to technology and what is happening on the island online. He is a communications and electronics engineer and has lived in the United States since 2016. He settled in Miami in 2020.