A new cast of Castros is emerging in Cuba, where the name holds sway

A charcoal seller in Havana waits for customers while sitting next to a poster of the late Cuban revolution leader Fidel Castro.

Photo: Reuters A new cast of Castros is emerging in Cuba: a grandson and a great-nephew are moving up the corridors of power, while another is an eccentric Instagram influencer declaring that Cubans want capitalism.

US President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Cuba, demanding change and restricting oil exports to the country, but the Castro dynasty still holds sway on the communist-run island.

Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, a colonel and grandson of 94-year-old former president Raul Castro, has reportedly taken part in recent talks with US officials.

Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, the son of Fidel and Raul Castro’s elder sister, was promoted to deputy prime minister in October.

Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, a colonel and grandson of 94-year-old former president Raul Castro.

Photo: AFP And then there is the wild card: Sandro Castro, a 34-year-old bar owner and grandson of late Cuban revolution leader Fidel Castro.

With almost 160,000 followers on Instagram, he posts satirical videos about Cuba’s blackouts and other hardships.

He caused a stir last week when he told CNN, with beer in hand in his Havana flat, that President Miguel Diaz-Canel “is not doing a good job” and that “the majority of Cubans want capitalism, not communism”.

State media commentators have criticised him while Cuban exiles see him as the face of a privileged elite in a nation where the average salary is 6,680 pesos (around US$14) per month.

In a recent video, the sunglass-wearing Castro interacts with a Trump impersonator, who tells him he wants to buy Cuba.

The sketch was posted the day Diaz-Canel confirmed talks between US and Cuban officials had occurred.

Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, who was promoted to deputy prime minister in October.

Photo: AFP Lillian Guerra, a professor of Cuban history at the University of Florida, said Sandro Castro was part of a “well-staged and seductive” plot to convince the US public that the Castro regime was not a threat. “The Cuban state has always been a spectacle state,” Guerra said. “Half of their energy if not more goes to creating distractions and false narratives.” Andres Pertierra, a historian at the University of Wisconsin, said he did not think that Sandro Castro was a distraction but that he should also not be taken “as seriously as someone who has a more senior role in the government”.

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