14ymedio, Havana, 17 March 2024 — María Victoria Gil Fernández, Alejandro Gil’s sister, continues to cry out to the heavens from Spain through her social networks. This Saturday, two days after reproaching the independent press for statements that she denied having given – “I beg the media to allow us to be in peace” – it was the regime’s turn at scolding, specifically against the TV program Con Filo, which dedicated its latest transmission to shooting down the reputation of the ousted Minister of Economy.
“I cannot forgive the Cuban press and those profiteers and opportunists who launch a cruel smear campaign from Cuba against my brother Alejandro Gil Fernández and against my family,” attacks Vicky Gil, who warns Michel Torres Corona, presenter of the official program, that “defamation is a crime indicated and sanctioned in the Cuban Penal Code, that I am a registered lawyer in the Republic of Cuba and that the presumption of innocence is mandatory.”
“If my brother has been chosen as a scapegoat, I will also ensure that all the accomplices and truly corrupt people fall with him”
The former Cuban Television presenter remembers that “at no time has my brother been accused of corruption or other crimes.” Therefore, she continues, “if his innocence is proven in this process, of which I am absolutely sure, I will appear as a private accusation against [Michel Torres Corona] and against the referenced program.” And she ends her text: “I will personally ensure that the full weight of the law falls on them for insults and slander. If my brother has been chosen as a scapegoat, I will also ensure that all the accomplices and truly corrupt people fall with him.”
Until last week, Vicky Gil was visiting Havana, where she was caught at various times, one of them singing in a venue, and where, as she publicly stated, the regime authorities did not bother her “at any time.”
Without offering evidence of the possible link, some independent media relate both the dismissal of the first secretary of the Communist Party in Ciego de Ávila, Liván Izquierdo Alonso, and the arrest of businessman Fernando Javier Albán Torres, owner of the Media Luna MSME, with Alejandro Gil’s fall from grace.
However, the reference to the former Minister of Economy in Con Filo is the only mention from an official source since the Government reported that he was being investigated for “serious errors in the exercise of his functions.” Rumors have spread since then, including that the former top official and his wife, Gina María González, are in custody while authorities investigate them.
Translated by Norma Whiting
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