Cuban prosecutors have formally charged former economy minister Alejandro Gil with espionage and a range of other serious offences, including bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion, and money laundering, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Friday evening.
Gil, 61, served as Minister of Economy and Planning from 2019 until February 2024, when he was abruptly removed from office. Soon after, authorities revealed that he was under investigation for what they described at the time as “committing serious errors,” though no further details were provided.
In the new statement, prosecutors said they had asked that Gil and other unnamed individuals be held accountable for “crimes of espionage” and “acts detrimental to economic activity.”
The statement also cited a long list of alleged offences, including embezzlement, bribery, falsification of public documents, influence peddling, money laundering, tax evasion, and violation of classified document protection regulations, as well as “theft and degradation of documents or other items under official custody.”
The Attorney General’s Office did not specify who might have benefited from the alleged espionage or corruption, nor did it name any foreign entities involved.
“Prison sentences have been requested for the accused, depending on the acts committed,” the statement read, though it offered no indication of when a trial might begin.
Gil’s downfall marks one of the most significant political scandals in Cuba in recent years, coming amid deepening economic turmoil, currency instability, and widespread public frustration over shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
Once considered a close ally of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Gil was seen as the architect of several controversial economic reforms aimed at stabilising the Cuban peso and stimulating investment, policies that ultimately failed to curb the country’s financial crisis.
The government has yet to release further information on the extent of the alleged espionage activities or whether foreign intelligence links are suspected.
