Filrated documents reveal visits to US territory between 2012 and 2016, in full “thaw” between Havana and Washington.
Miami, United States. – A dozen senior Cuban officials, including members of the intimate circle of General Raúl Castro, traveled to the United States between 2012 and 2016 covered by diplomatic passports, special protection of the US government and with the expenses covered, according to reveals A report from Martí News Based on official filtered documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (Minrex).
Among the beneficiaries are Mariela Castro Espín, daughter of the general, and her nephew Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as “El Crab.” Both were accompanied to the United States by relatives and escorts. The trips occurred in the context of the so -called “thaw” between Washington and Havana.
According to the documents obtained by Martí Newsthe Cuban government requested diplomatic visas for senior officers of the Ministry of Interior (Minint), including Humberto Francis Pardo and Rafael Arturo Fong Puig. The Minrex notes to the then US interest section in Havana included details about prolonged stays in US territory, some of almost three weeks, beyond the protocol events to which the beneficiaries allegedly attend.
A note dated July 6, 2015 requested Visa for Rodríguez Castro, 31, with the argument that he would attend meetings of the United Nations System. A second communication, on September 14 of the same year, confirmed the presence of Raúl Castro’s personal escorts during a stay in New York from September 20 to October 8, with special protection from the United States.
Mariela Castro also traveled to the US in April 2015 with a diplomatic passport, accompanied by her children Lisa and Paolo Titolo Castro (also with official passports), her husband Paolo Titolo and an official of the CENESEX, under the official pretext of attending the 48th session of the UN Population Commission in New York.
Mariela Castro’s interest in traveling to the US was not new. The former head of the interest section, Vicki Huddleston, revealed in his book Our Woman in Havana that in 2002 Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque had requested a visa for her on the occasion of a gender conference in California. In 2012, he received another visa for an academic event in San Francisco, which generated a strong protest in the US Congress.
The 2012 visit caused the rejection of the then Senators Marco Rubio – today Secretary of State – and Bob Menéndez, as well as organizations such as Hispanic Leadership Network. Despite the criticism, Mariela Castro received protection from the diplomatic security bureau of the State Department and stayed near the Cuban mission before the UN. On a later occasion, his visa was restricted to a radius of 25 miles, which prevented him from attending an event in Philadelphia where he would be awarded for his LGBTIQ activism.
Consulted by Martí Newsthe US Department of State refused to comment on individuals who visited the country more than a decade, but offered a forceful response: “The hypocrisy of the Cuban regime is well known throughout the world and by their own people. While the Cuban people suffer hung Luxuries, including frequent trips abroad, ”said a spokesman on Wednesday.
The investigation also confirms that Vilma Rodríguez Castro, daughter of Déborah Castro Espín and General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, He traveled to the US at least five times between 2012 and 2016 With diplomatic passport.
