The prosecution is seeking a 30-year prison sentence for the former head of the Economy department and minimum sentences of 15 years for the others.
14ymedio, Yaiza Santos, Madrid, November 5, 2025 – The imminent trial of former Economy and Finance Minister Alejandro Gil Fernández, accused of serious crimes such as embezzlement, money laundering, and espionage, involves some twenty other defendants, including “a member of the National Assembly of People’s Power and a secretary of the Communist Party.” This is according to a source familiar with the case who requested anonymity for security reasons.
The same informant denies that the prosecution has requested a life sentence for the former official. “The request for him is 30 years, while for everyone else, the minimum sentences requested are 15 years,” he tells 14ymedio. He continues, stating that there are 15 defendants “plus another five or six who were released on bail.” Regarding some of them, he asserts, “their names are not being released; they are under strict secrecy, which implies that they could be military personnel or high-ranking officials.”
The source also reveals the whereabouts of Alejandro Gil, whose location has been unknown since his arrest in March 2024: in the maximum-security prison of Guanajay, Artemisa, “under a regime against state security.” This is the same prison where, for example, political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is serving his sentence, and where former Interior Minister José Abrantes was arrested in 1989 and died.
Gil is in the maximum security prison of Guanajay, Artemisa, “under a regime against the security of the State”
This Cuban ventures that it is highly unlikely the trial will be public, as requested by the former minister’s daughter, Laura María Gil González , in a series of Facebook posts the day after the Prosecutor’s Office statement was released. In them, she stated that her father “remains steadfast in his defense and will not, under any circumstances, acknowledge any crime he is accused of that has not been duly verified.” She also requested “an open trial, where anyone who wishes to participate can do so, and that it be televised live” by both national and international networks, and covered by “official and unofficial media outlets.”
According to legal experts consulted by this newspaper, the fact that Alejandro Gil is being accused of espionage, one of the most serious crimes in the Cuban Penal Code—which, on paper, even carries the death penalty—is what justifies a closed trial. When asked about this, the former minister’s sister, María Victoria Gil, a lawyer by training, agreed: “I think they’ve brought up this charge far too thin to justify the closed-door trial, arguing that it is a crime whose public disclosure would harm sovereignty and national security.”
After her niece’s posts became public, Vicky Gil confessed to this newspaper that, once again, she doubts the process and, above all, doubts that her brother is a spy. Thus, she fully agrees with Gil González in demanding a transparent process: “I’m skeptical about everything, but I do believe that the only opportunity to clarify things is through a public trial, in which the international press can participate.”
This Wednesday, Laura María Gil once again addressed the issue on her Facebook page. In her post, she refers to Tuesday’s broadcast of “Con Filo” —where the Prosecutor’s Office’s Friday statement was mentioned in passing but the topic was not explored in depth—a program to which she expresses her “respect” and about which she says: “Finally, an official media outlet recognizes, in its own way, what the presumption of innocence truly means and that one cannot speak without foundation.”
“Finally, an official media outlet acknowledges, in its own way, what the presumption of innocence truly means.”
At the same time, she laments the “wave of accusations, insults, apathy, offenses, vileness, and pettiness” she has suffered in recent days, among which the word “traitor” stands out. “From my first statement, I reiterated that my cause is not political. I am not asking for heads to roll, nor for the participation of international media to undermine the cause, but rather for them to act as an impartial third-party observer to reflect reality,” she states. And she argues: “It is dishonorable and reprehensible to insult a daughter in such a way for demonstrating unconditional love for her father and defending him with justice and truth, guaranteeing due process. My demand for a public trial is based precisely on the civic transparency we have so often praised: if it was a state secret, then it shouldn’t even have been mentioned.”
Her posts have resonated in various media outlets and, above all, have garnered numerous comments from Cubans both on and off the island. Many criticize her for not speaking out in the past when so many imprisoned individuals suffered unfair and opaque trials, such as the protesters of 11 July 2021. Others condemn Alejandro Gil as a disastrous Minister of Economy, but most express themselves in understanding terms, like the user Dyrack Yai: “Even without agreeing with anything your father defended and being against this ‘government’ administration, I recognize and defend your absolute right to advocate for justice for your father. That is true democracy: understanding and empathizing with others on a human level, setting aside petty squabbles.”
Until his dismissal in February of last year, Alejandro Gil was not only Minister of Economy and Planning, but also Deputy Prime Minister and Miguel Díaz-Canel’s right-hand man. On March 7, 2024, a criminal case was initially announced against the official in a brief statement signed by the president himself, alleging, without further details, “serious errors committed in the performance of his duties.”
The next thing that was known about the case, 20 months later, was the statement from the Prosecutor’s Office last Friday, where, without providing numbers or names, it spoke of “other defendants” and reported that Gil was accused of “espionage, acts detrimental to economic activity or contracting, embezzlement, bribery, falsification of public documents, tax evasion, influence peddling, money laundering, violation of the rules for the protection of classified documents and theft and damage of documents or other objects in official custody.”
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