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The Castro Family’s Generous Crab

HAVANA TIMES – There are few things more beautiful than giving someone a gift, especially when it comes from the heart and the person giving it isn’t handing over something they have to spare, but sharing what they have.

This week, news went viral in Cuba that the supposed heir to the throne, Raul Guillermo Castro, popularly known as “El Cangrejo” (The Crab), gave a farm to a friend, specifically Roberto Carlos Chamizo Gonzalez.

We should start by putting things into context, because it is perfectly normal for a businessperson anywhere in the world to do whatever he/she pleases with their resources, whether to profit from them, set up a nonprofit organization, or simply give them directly to whomever they choose.

There is, however, a fundamental difference here, and that is how this particular person acquired his fortune, because in the case of Raul Guillermo Castro, it certainly wasn’t by the sweat of his brow.

In a country where birthday gifts usually consist of a handkerchief, a bottle of rum or, if you’re lucky, a cheap appliance, our friend decided to raise the bar on friendship in spectacular fashion, because apparently such trinkets no longer adequately express the affection between comrades.

Giving away public assets as if they were yours

More than surprise, the news caused outrage, because we all know that the gentleman in question is disposing of assets that do not belong to him.

According to rumors, the farm came with all the accessories included: extensive grounds, leafy trees, dusty roads, a country house and possibly a secret or two buried beneath the chicken coop. Maybe there was even a card saying: “To my dear friend and accomplice: with affection, gratitude, and the assurance that nobody will look too closely at the paperwork. Sincerely, El Cangrejo.”

What became known is that Raul Castro’s grandson pressured officials into handing over 30 hectares of state-owned land to a friend, where a luxury complex called Hacienda El Patrón was built and marketed in dollars by the state-run Business Administration Group (GAESA) for sale to foreigners.

According to the investigation, the former Havana Ministry of Agriculture delegate, Esmeregildo Martínez Gamez, was the person behind........

© Havana Times