Weekly Report - 16 July 2026 (WR-26-28)

With Washington showing little sign of easing up on its relentless pressure campaign on Cuba, aimed at forcing political and economic change, the role of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of 95-year-old former president Raúl Castro (2008-2018), who has emerged as a key interlocutor with the US, is coming under renewed focus. This scrutiny has intensified after Rodríguez Castro, who holds no official position within the Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) government, gave a recent interview with US newspaper USA Today, widely reported as his first US news interview, in which he said he would be open to negotiating with US President Donald Trump. His comments have sparked speculation regarding rifts in the Cuban establishment, despite Havana officially coming out in his support.