14ymedio, Havana, 4 March 2021 — Sandro Castro, the grandson of former Cuban ruler Fidel Castro, apologized this Thursday for a video in which he was driving a Mercedes Benz. In the filming, which generated an avalanche of criticism, he was seen driving at 87 miles per hour and bragging about the vehicle that he now says belongs to “an acquaintance.”
In just under two minutes, Castro wanted to offer a “big apology” to Cubans who are inside and outside the island, to people close to him, to his relatives and to all those who were offended by the images in which he boasted about the vehicle, as he explained in a post on Instagram that does not allow comments.
“I did not publish that video, I only put it in my WhatsApp status for my close, trusted and close contacts, but for reasons against my will it spread to other media,” he said.
Sandro affirmed that the car that appears in the recording belongs to an acquaintance who lent it to him because he likes cars and wanted to try it. “That’s when this video was actually shot.”
“When I referred to the toys I had at home, I said it as a joke,” he said, referring to a phrase heard in the video where he hints that he has other cars.
“I also want to clarify about a tweet about me is false, I do not have Twitter or Facebook, only Instagram. I am not interested in social networks or popularity. I am a simple person and that is how I consider myself. People close to me know that what I’m saying is real.”
A Facebook profile attributed to his uncle, Alex Castro Soto del Valle, and endorsed by official journalists, published this Tuesday that “one rotten potato does NOT indicate that all the potatoes in the sack are bad,” alluding to Sandro Castro’s video, which provoked dozens of comments of support from followers of the regime.
For his part, the Cuban singer-songwriter Israel Rojas of the duo Buena Fe, described Sandro as “irresponsible,” “rude” and “disrespectful… However, this would only be the stupidity of an immature man, of the many that swarm in social networks, if it were not for the fact that the protagonist is a grandson of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro,” he said.
This is the first time that someone linked to the Castro family has publicly apologized for any excess. In 2015, Antonio Castro, son of the former ruler, was photographed while vacationing with a luxurious yacht on the Greek island of Mykonos and in Turkey, but the fact was only aired on social networks and independent media.
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