Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro told USA Today he is prepared to speak with President Donald Trump or a U.S.-designated representative as Havana faces deepening economic pressure.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, said he is willing to negotiate directly with President Donald Trump as U.S. pressure on Havana intensifies and Cuba’s economy faces mounting strain.
Rodríguez Castro made the remarks during an exclusive interview with USA Today conducted over several days in June in Havana. His comments marked a rare public signal from a member of the Castro family at a time when the Trump administration is using economic pressure to push Cuba’s communist government toward political change.
“I’ve never been interested in politics. It’s never been a calling of mine,” Rodríguez Castro told the outlet. “But if at some point the revolution needs me to step up, I will do it.”
Rodríguez Castro said he would not abandon the principles of Cuba’s 1959 revolution or the country’s sovereignty. Still, he said he is prepared to speak with U.S. officials if the opportunity arises.
“I can negotiate with anyone designated by the U.S.,” Rodríguez Castro said. “If given the opportunity, claro que con Trump.”
The phrase means, “of course, with Trump.”
Rodríguez Castro is not widely known outside Cuba’s ruling circles. He does not hold a formal government post, rarely appears on Cuban state television and had not previously spoken to a U.S. news outlet, according to the submitted material.
His family name, however, gives him unusual standing inside Havana’s tightly controlled political system. The submitted information described him as a shadow figure with access to Cuba’s communist elite and the potential ability to serve as a back-channel liaison.
His comments come as Cuba faces worsening economic pressure. The Trump administration’s campaign has tightened economic conditions on the island and hit the tourism sector, one of Cuba’s key sources of foreign currency.
Cuban government data cited in the submitted material showed that the island drew just 360,000 tourists during the first five months of 2026, down 58% from the same period a year earlier. Over that same stretch, the neighboring Dominican Republic drew more than 10 times as many tourists.
The Trump administration says its pressure campaign is intended to force Cuba’s communist government to open its political system after decades of economic hardship under communist rule.
The submitted material also said Havana’s external lifelines have weakened in recent months. It stated that Venezuela is no longer positioned to provide support because the Maduro regime was taken out by U.S. Delta Force operators, while China and Russia are unlikely to deploy large military forces to the island because of the U.S. naval presence in the region.
The report also noted that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was recently in Havana for meetings with communist officials.
Rodríguez Castro’s decision to speak publicly with a U.S. media outlet is being viewed in the submitted material as another sign that private contacts may already be underway as pressure builds on Cuba’s ruling class.
For now, Rodríguez Castro is presenting himself as someone willing to engage Washington without renouncing the revolution his family led. His comments place the Castro family name back into the center of U.S.-Cuba tensions as Trump seeks leverage over Havana and Cuba searches for options amid a worsening economic crisis.
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