Cuba's 'El Cangrejo' backs sweeping economic reforms and says island poses no threat to the United States

Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as “El Cangrejo” and the grandson of former President Raúl Castro, gave his first public interview to the Emirati newspaper The National, accompanied by Deputy Minister Carlos Méndez. The interview was timed a day after Cuba’s Communist Party approved a historic package of 176 economic measures, including private banking, share trading in state enterprises, removal of caps on small businesses and opening the energy sector to private capital.

Rodríguez Castro asserted that Cuba “poses no threat whatsoever to the interests and national security of the United States” and called for a respectful, civilian‑to‑civilian relationship based on equality. He acknowledged that discussions with Washington have been hampered by U.S. sanctions, oil blockades and other coercive measures.

Cuban opposition figures criticized the reforms as insufficient without deeper political change, arguing the regime is using economic liberalisation to improve its image abroad. The reforms aim to attract foreign investment, but critics warn that without legal guarantees and broader institutional reforms, confidence among investors and the Cuban public will remain low.