Former Cuban minister sentenced to life in prison for spying

A person waves a Cuban flag during a gathering marking International Workers' Day at Anti-Imperialist Square in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

A former Cuban finance minister was sentenced to life in prison for espionage and economic crimes, the Supreme Court said Monday.

“The Court has imposed a single sentence of life imprisonment” for “espionage crimes” and “acts detrimental to economic activity or contract execution,” the country’s highest judicial authority said in a press release.

The court did not detail what Alejandro Gil -- who served from 2018 to 2024 as minister of economy and planning -- was alleged to have done or what country he is accused of spying for.

Gil, 61, was found guilty of “corruption, misappropriation and degradation of documents or other items under official custody, violation of official seals, and breach of rules for the protection of classified documents,” the court stated.

“He violated work procedures related to the classified official information he handled, removed it, damaged it and ultimately made it available to enemy services,” the court said.

In a separate trial he got 20 years for bribery, influence peddling and tax evasion, the court said in the same statement.

He was found guilty of continuous corruption offenses, as well as influence peddling and tax fraud.

The court charged Gil in early November.

He was known to be close to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, but has not been seen in public since his abrupt removal as minister in February 2024.

Gil has 10 days to appeal the verdict. In cases of life imprisonment sentences, Cuban law provides for an automatic appeal, which will necessitate a second trial.

On November 1, the attorney general announced that Cuban prosecutors had charged him with espionage and various other crimes including bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion. His trial began on November 11.

Gil’s case played out at a time when the country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years and undergoing a chaotic opening to the private sector, with high inflation, the impoverishment of a large part of the population, and increasing inequality.

State media has remained quiet on the matter, only relaying the trial’s start date and the sentences.

Gil began his professional life as an engineer specializing in transportation at the Port of Havana, and worked in several state companies on the island and abroad. He later joined the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Economy.

His sudden dismissal is not unprecedented in the Cuban government, wher mysterious removals are not unusual during periods of crisis or internal tensions.

Notably, former guerilla fighter General Arnaldo Ochoa, who was accused of drug trafficking with other officers, was tried and executed in 1989.