Cuba accuses former economy minister of espionage, other crimes

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By Dave Sherwood

HAVANA (Reuters) -Cuba’s top prosecutor accused on Friday former economy minister Alejandro Gil and unidentified individuals of crimes ranging from espionage to bribery, in one of the largest publicly disclosed corruption scandals in decades.

Sacked by President Miguel Diaz-Canel in February 2024, Gil has not been seen or heard from publicly since. The intrigue rattled the highest ranks of Cuba’s ruling communist party and its normally hermetic politics.

On Friday, the office of Cuba’s attorney general issued a long list of charges it said were the result of a nearly two-year investigation.

“Responsibility was sought for the crimes of espionage, acts detrimental to economic activity or contracting, embezzlement, bribery …” the attorney general said in a brief statement.

Other charges enumerated were falsification of public documents, tax evasion, influence peddling, money laundering, violation of rules on classified documents, and theft and damage of documents or other objects in official custody.

The top prosecutor did not say how many others were accused, identify them, give a trial date or elaborate on the charges.

Cuba’s penal code punishes espionage with terms ranging from 10 years in jail to death.

Reuters was unable to contact Gil or his lawyer to seek comment.

Gil, once a close confidant of Diaz-Canel, spearheaded a major monetary reform in Cuba in 2021 largely seen as disastrous for the economy.

At the time of his removal from office, official statements said only that the former economy minister had been accused of committing “grave errors.”

Gil had also advocated for an unpopular plan to raise the prices of many government subsidized services, from gasoline to electricity, raising tensions on the street.

Gil has not responded publicly to any of the accusations against him.

The case is among the highest profile corruption scandals to rock Cuban politics since 1989, when General Arnaldo Ochoa, a hero of Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution, was tried and executed by firing squad for drug smuggling.

In Friday’s statement, the attorney general’s office said those accused would face due process under Cuban law.

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)