Raúl “El Cangrejo” Castro, Grandson of Raúl Castro, Linked to Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo, According to The New York Times

An investigative report published by The New York Times reveals that US federal court documents and testimonies from detained high-level members of a Caribbean-based criminal network connect Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro—better known as “El Cangrejo” and grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro—to the operations of the so-called “Cuban Mafia” operating in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

According to the judicial records and statements from defendants cooperating with a long-running joint federal task force between the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security known as Operation Sisyphus, the criminal organization has spent over a decade orchestrating international maritime smuggling rings. Investigators state that the network specialized in stealing luxury boats and marine navigation equipment from the southwestern coast of Florida—spanning areas from Sarasota to Marco Island—and repurposing them to smuggle undocumented migrants, contraband, and even professional athletes like baseball players from Cuba through Mexico and onward into the United States.

One of the detained members who pleaded guilty specifically claimed before federal authorities that Rodríguez Castro, who has served as a key security figure and diplomatic liaison in high-level negotiations between the Cuban government and United States officials, has provided institutional backing and protection from Havana for the network’s human smuggling and illicit operations. The revelations have intensified international scrutiny over transnational crime networks spanning Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Cuba.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com

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