Cuba hands former economy minister Alejandro Gil life sentence for espionage

Cuba’s former economy minister Alejandro Gil has been sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage, in a rare and dramatic ruling that marks one of the island’s most high-profile political downfalls in decades. The Supreme Popular Tribunal announced the verdict Monday, saying Gil also received a concurrent 20-year sentence on corruption charges including bribery, document falsification and tax evasion.

Gil, 61, served as Havana’s chief economic architect between 2018 and 2024 and was long seen as a close ally of President Miguel Diaz-Canel. He vanished from public view after being dismissed last February. The trial was held behind closed doors, and authorities offered no details on who he allegedly spied for or the nature of the intelligence involved.

The court accused Gil of abusing power for personal gain, receiving money from foreign companies, and bribing officials to secure assets. It said he mishandled classified information, “stole it, damaged it, and finally made it available to the enemy”. He has ten days to appeal.

Gil was the public face of Cuba’s 2021 currency unification reforms, launched amid deep economic strain. Instead of stabilising the system, the overhaul fed inflation and widespread shortages. His fall now eclipses previous purges, including the 2009 dismissal of Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, neither of whom faced sentencing.