Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, former Cuban president Castro's grandson and one of the more important shadow figures inside Cuba's communist ruling circle, told USA Today in an exclusive interview that he is prepared to speak directly with President Trump, signaling publicly a potential back-channel opening as the Trump administration intensifies economic pressure on Havana.
"I've never been interested in politics. It's never been a calling of mine," Rodríguez Castro told the outlet over the course of several days in June in Havana. "But if at some point the revolution needs me to step up, I will do it." He said that he would never abandon the principles of Cuba's 1959 revolution or the nation's sovereignty.
Rodríguez Castro is a lesser-known figure outside Havana's communist circles. He holds no formal government position, rarely appears on state television and has never spoken to a US news outlet before.
But the Castro family name gives him unique status inside Havana's opaque power structure and the ability to act as a back-channel liaison with access to the island's communist elite.
Now, the younger Castro is signaling he is ready to negotiate Cuba's future, saying he wants to deal directly with President Trump.
"I can negotiate with anyone designated by the U.S.," Rodríguez Castro said. "If given the opportunity, claro que con Trump." Of course, with Trump.
Why would Rodríguez Castro want to negotiate now and not earlier this year? Well, that's because Trump's gunboat diplomacy has unleashed an economic stranglehold on the communist-run island, and it continues to work, with pressure now crushing the already poorly managed economy and collapsing its tourism sector.
The island drew just 360,000 tourists in the first five months of 2026, down 58% from a year earlier, according to Cuban government data. The neighboring Dominican Republic attracted more than 10 times that number over the same period.
The Trump administration says the pressure campaign is aimed at forcing the communist government to open its political system after generations of economic misery under failed communism.
Havana can't turn to help from the socialists in Venezuela because the Maduro regime was taken out by US Delta Force operators. The Chinese and Russians won't dare send their militaries to the island en masse because of the US naval presence in the region.
For Havana, the regime's external lifelines have been disappearing one by one over the last six months.
Recall that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was recently in Havana meeting with communist officials. Now, Rodríguez Castro speaking with a US media outlet is another promising signal, suggesting that back-channel talks are likely already underway as pressure builds on the island's ruling elite.