The daughter of the convicted former minister broke her silence, appealing to the Constitution of the Republic and its recognition of “freedom of expression for all citizens”
14ymedio, Havana, December 25, 2025 – The Facebook post made on July 3, 2023, by Laura María Gil González, daughter of former Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil Fernández, recently sentenced to life imprisonment, continues to receive congratulations. At that time, she announced her appointment as Director of Innovation and Development at Caudal SA, the insurance and financial services group—comprised of no fewer than eight companies, including Cubacontrol, dedicated to inspection—belonging to the military conglomerate Gaesa. A high-ranking position, as is typical for relatives of the Cuban nomenklatura
Her father had already been detained for nine months for “serious errors committed in the performance of his duties” when Laura María’s name appeared in the official press in an article praising the “financial strength and security” of the state conglomerate for which she works . “Laura María Gil González, Director of Innovation and Development at Caudal, explained that each company in the group specializes in a specific service,” Cubadebate, quoting her as saying: “For example, Cubacontrol and Intermar provide inspection services. The consulting firms Canec, Conas, and Interaudit offer appraisal and auditing services, while ESEN and ESICUBA are the insurance companies. Asistur is an insurance brokerage firm.”
Neither she nor her mother, Gina María González García—who was held for a time in a safe house along with her husband—said a word about the legal proceedings against Alejandro Gil. Then, on November 1st, after 20 months without any news of his whereabouts, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that he was being charged with “espionage” and other serious corruption offenses .
On November 1, after 20 months without any information about his whereabouts, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that he was being accused of “espionage” and other serious corruption crimes.
And then, Laura Gil spoke out. She did so through her Facebook wall and in several posts, demanding a fair, public, and open trial for her father. She broke her silence by invoking the Constitution of the Republic and its recognition of “freedom of expression for all citizens,” something that was immediately criticized by hundreds of commenters on the post, since it is a right that the regime denies to its dissenting citizens.
Gil González ironically celebrated the “highly efficient” implementation of the Transparency and Access to Public Information Law, “with unprecedented consistency,” adding that “small details remained unresolved, fueling public speculation.” She then addressed the espionage charge against her father, noting that “small details” were missing: “What did he do? Which country or countries are we referring to? Since when? What were his communication channels? What did he receive in return? Where did he hold his meetings? In what settings? With whom? Under whose direct orders? What information did he reveal? What measures did he propose to the country on the express orders of another state? What evidence do they have? What was his pseudonym?”
In one of her posts, the young woman also asserted that her father remained steadfast in his defense and would not acknowledge, “under any circumstances,” any crime he was accused of “that was not duly verified.” Her plea, which was followed by another post addressed to the program Con Filo—unusually discreet in its coverage of Gil—was ignored. The former minister would be tried behind closed doors by the State Security Crimes Chamber in a court in Marianao , Havana, in two separate trials: one lasting four days, for espionage, and another, two weeks later, for “money laundering, continued falsification of public documents, illicit economic activities, continued illegal trafficking of national currency, foreign exchange, precious metals and stones, and smuggling.”
He was defended by lawyer Abel Solá, a prestigious jurist with experience in cases of crimes against state security, who will predictably have appealed the sentence.
He was defended by lawyer Abel Solá , a prestigious jurist with experience in cases of crimes against the security of the State, who will predictably have appealed the sentence.
It was the former minister’s sister, María Victoria Gil, who revealed that he was accused of spying for the United States, and that behind the purge was none other than the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero.
Laura Gil has remained silent on all of this. She has only made one brief post since then. “My little princess is my whole world,” she wrote, referring to her three-year-old daughter. It remains to be seen whether she will dare to openly break with the regime that sheltered her family and that, like Saturn, ended up devouring them. The road to Damascus for the former minister’s daughter still seems long.
See also: Cuban Faces 2025: The 14 Faces That Marked the Pulse of Cuba in 2025
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