14ymedio, Havana, 8 March 2024 — The Cuban Government announced a criminal case for corruption against Alejandro Gil Fernández, who until last February 2 was Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Planning. According to a brief note published by the official press, on Thursday night, and signed by Miguel Díaz-Canel, Gil is being investigated for “serious mistakes made in the performance of his duties.”
The statement specified that the regime’s action was taken after a “rigorous investigation” and “taking into account the level of verification of the facts.” Díaz-Canel approved an investigation carried out by the Ministry of the Interior “for the clarification” of Gil’s behavior.
Díaz-Canel said that the Party and the Government have “never” allowed, “nor will they ever allow, the proliferation of corruption, pretense and insensitivity,” without giving more details of the crimes for which the former official will be prosecuted.
He also said that the regime “will maintain, from legality, the permanent confrontation, transparency and zero tolerance for these types of incidents that affect” the people, and “the higher the level of trust placed in an official, the greater the rigor and intransigence with which action is taken in the face of events of this nature.”
Gil is being investigated for “serious errors made in the performance of his duties”
Gil acknowledged the “serious accusations” of his conduct, so, says Díaz-Canel, the official “resigned” days ago “in his capacity as a member of the Central Committee of the Party and as a deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power.”
In concluding, Díaz-Canel, who is also the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, said that “the enemy will unleash a new propaganda campaign against Cuba,” but dared to predict that “the people, as always, will remain firm on the side” of the regime.
Until the beginning of last month, Gil was one of the key men of the regime. When he was appointed Minister of Economy and Planning by Díaz-Canel in 2018, he was an unknown. The following year he added the position of deputy prime minister. A survivor of several crises, including the debacle after the so-called Ordering Task,* his lucky streak ended after taking responsibility for ’el paquetazo’ — the package of measures that the Cuban Government implemented in the last three years.
As a regular guest of the Round Table program, Gil’s apparent optimism when announcing each measure seemed bulletproof, even in the face of the craziest plans. His sister, María Victoria Gil, gave the best definition of what the “smiling minister” came to represent: he is one of the “most hated” by the people along with Díaz-Canel and Manuel Marrero, she said in an interview.
María Victoria Gil announced three days ago that she was leaving for Cuba from Spain, where she resides. Her last appearance on social networks was on a plane that was going to fly to Havana, but since then nothing more has been known of her.
*Translator’s note: The Ordering Task is a collection of measures that include eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency, which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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