- Raúl Castro’s grandson and chief aide dispatched a Cuban businessman to hand-deliver a diplomatic letter directly to Trump at the White House last week — bypassing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long pushed for maximum pressure on Havana
- The letter proposed economic and investment agreements plus sanctions relief, and warned that Cuba was preparing for a U.S. military incursion — it carried an official Cuban seal formatted as a diplomatic note
- The courier — Roberto Carlos Chamizo González, 37, a luxury tourism entrepreneur and friend-business partner of Castro’s grandson — was intercepted by Customs and Border Protection at Miami airport and sent back to Havana
- Cuba is on the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe: near-total oil blockade, economic collapse, and loss of Venezuelan patron after the U.S. deposed Maduro in January
What Happened?
In a striking back-channel maneuver, Raúl Rodríguez Castro — the 41-year-old grandson and chief aide of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro — enlisted a private Havana businessman to hand-deliver a diplomatic letter to the White House last week. The letter, which carried an official Cuban seal, proposed economic and investment agreements, offered sanctions relief negotiations, and warned that the Cuban government was preparing for a potential U.S. incursion. The courier, Roberto Carlos Chamizo González — a luxury car rental and tourism entrepreneur who is both a friend and business partner of Rodríguez Castro — was intercepted by a Customs and Border Protection agent at Miami International Airport. The letter was seized and Chamizo was returned to Havana. The White House declined to confirm whether Trump ever saw it.
Why It Matters?
The decision to go around Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the most hawkish voices in Washington on Cuba policy — reveals how desperate Havana has become and how little it trusts the State Department as a conduit. Cuba is in its worst economic crisis in decades: Trump has imposed a near-total oil blockade, most economic activity has ground to a halt, and the island lost its most important regional patron when the U.S. deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January. Analysts note Trump may be more open than Rubio to a transactional deal — economic concessions without full regime change — similar to the arrangement reached with Venezuela. But choosing an obscure businessman with no personal relationship to Trump as courier was diplomatically naive. “It is downright foolish and bound to backfire,” said the executive director of the Cuba Study Group.
What’s Next?
U.S. officials have been in informal discussions with Cuban officials including members of Raúl Castro’s inner circle in recent weeks, suggesting the back-channel attempt did not emerge in a vacuum. Cuban President Díaz-Canel has publicly refused to negotiate over Cuba’s political system — a hard floor that will complicate any deal. Trump has said Cuba is “a failing country and we will be there to help them out” — language that could mean anything from regime change to a transactional economic arrangement. The outcome hinges on whether Trump cuts Rubio out of Cuba policy the way Havana tried to cut him out — a move that would face fierce resistance from Cuban-American lawmakers who are a critical part of Trump’s political coalition.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
