Cuba's ‘top leadership' endorses Castro grandson in U.S. negotiations

Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro has Cuba's blessing "from the top leadership" to negotiate with the United States for the future of Cuba, despite having no official role in the government, according to a statement from a high-ranking Cuban official.

A social media post from an official with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba represents the first public commentary that the grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro – indicted by the United States on accusations of ordering civilian U.S. planes shot down in 1996 – is playing a leading role in high-stakes communications with Washington. It comes days after USA TODAY published a story on Rodríguez Castro that included a series of exclusive interviews over two days in Havana.

"I can negotiate with anyone designated by the U.S.," Rodríguez Castro told USA TODAY. "If given the opportunity, claro que con Trump." (Of course, with Trump.) He also said that "if at some point the revolution needs me to step up, I will do it."

Elier Ramírez Cañedo of the government's Ideological Department wrote that for years Cuba and the United States have used secret "interlocutors." He criticized the U.S. administration for of being "unserious and discreet" and accused the American media of "character assassination."

"The manipulations, lies, and yellow journalism surrounding Raúl Guillermo − who serves as the Cuban side's interlocutor by decision of the country's top leadership − are all part of this objective," he wrote.

Rodríguez Castro, though not an elected official, is known as Raulito, or "Little Raul" − and wields power to navigate the future of his country. His decision to speak with USA TODAY marked the first time a member of the Castro family has consented to a profile in 70 years.

Many Cubans were caught off guard this week by Rodríguez Castro's freedom to speak openly about sensitive diplomatic negotiations, said Michael Bustamante, a history professor of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami. He noted Rodríguez Castro's role has been unclear to most Cubans.

Unlike most of his family and many high-level officials, Rodríguez Castro remains unsanctioned by the United States. And the United States has not negotiated with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

"As the President stated, Cuba is a failed country that has been horribly run for many years. The United States will be there to be help, but its flailing leaders should make a deal with the United States before it is too late," a White House staffer responded July 9 in an email to questions from USA TODAY. "As Secretary Rubio has stated, the United States is ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Cuba. The only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control Cuba for their own gain at the expense of the Cuban people."

Bustamante said Ramírez Cañedo's Facebook post is a subtle acknowledgment that Rodríguez Castro speaks with top-level authority, but the Cuban government still sees the United States as an untrustworthy negotiating partner.

"There's this questioning about: ‘Who is this guy, speaking this way? And has he walked into a trap? Or is he being profiled by the U.S. media to sow division?'" Bustamante said. "This type of open talk is not in keeping with the style and discretion of most historic Cuban diplomacy. But it certainly wasn't a denial."

USA TODAY's reporting and the emerging public role of Rodríguez Castro as an interlocutor has sparked bitter, divided opinions on the island and in the Cuban exile community online.

Former Cuban diplomat and ambassador to the European Union Carlos Alzugaray posted on Facebook that Rodríguez Castro went far outside the norm of earlier diplomatic efforts. He said the situation is too sensitive to be back-channelled and handled through the media.

"I am loath to believe that any level of the Cuban leadership authorized something so crude and clumsy regarding such a sensitive matter," Alzugaray wrote from Havana, referring to the USA TODAY profile.

The mother of a key communication official in the government took to Facebook with a long missive aimed at Rodríguez Castro.

"Can someone get this kid down from the clouds? Can someone please shut him up? Can someone tell him this is not a bodyguard's job?" María Del Carmen Hernández Carús wrote. "If there's no one willing to tell him that, I will."

On July 9, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz weighed in on the attention to Rodríguez Castro's negotiations with the United States without naming him.

He noted that "talks have been held" with the United States by a team with the support of the government but warned against any attempt to drive a wedge between official and back-channel messaging.

"Character assassinations, manipulations, and calls for disunity and division are part of a well-designed plan to generate uncertainty and mistrust," Marrero Cruz wrote on social media. "At this decisive moment in history, every step taken is in defense of the Revolution and our sovereignty."

The reaction to Rodríguez Castro's media appearances has been "a little exaggerated," said Frank Mora, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University. He noted Cuba tightly controls the flow of information on the island.

"Everyone is focused a bit too much on whether Raulito is actually influential or shouldn't be speaking out, but at the end of the day he has the confidence, at the very highest level," Mora said. "As long as his grandfather is around, he is without a doubt, the person who has the confidence of the person with the most power within the ruling class of Cuba."

The chatter about Rodríguez Castro came the same week the U.N. General Assembly in New York City debated the U.S. embargo of the island. U.S. representatives railed against the Castro family amid the nation's power outages.

"If there's no food and fuel for hospitals, how is there fuel for the Castro private family jet? How does President (Miguel) Díaz-Canel afford – you can look it up online – his Hermes tie?" said Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "How does he afford his Rolex watch and the Montblanc pen that he writes with? How does the Castro family afford their 17 homes, their private island, their splashy trips to Madrid and Moscow and the Costa Del Sol?"

At the session, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla lamented what he called an "unconventional war" by the United States that has turned "more cruel and ruthless in the last seven months."

This story has been updated with new information.

Contributing: Zac Anderson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cuba's ‘top leadership' endorses Castro grandson in U.S. negotiations

Reporting by Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 10:53 AM.