Fidel Castro's grandson facing criticism for arrogant influencer behavior
Fidel Castro loyalists are blasting his influencer grandson for acting like a capitalist — flaunting his wealth online and even mocking the Communist nation's widespread poverty, which his dictator granddad helped create.
Sandro Castro has posted dozens of snaps alongside beautiful women and lux cars for his 127,000 Instagram followers.
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A video posted to Instagram showed a sunglasses-wearing Castro, 33, holding a can of Cristal beer on Playas del Este, an ocean beach, and then panning the camera to the left and right to reveal four bikinied babes, dancing in the sand.
5 Sandro Castro enjoys Habanos as much as his grand papi.
Sandro Castro/ Facebook
Castro — the son of Rebecca Arteaga and Alexis Castro Soto del Valle, one of Fidel's five children with Dalia Soto del Valle — in June asked President Trump to 'give opportunity and life to the migrant,' as Cuba suffers is biggest mass exodus since the 1970s.
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Castro, who owns a bar called EFE in El Vedado, has also mocked his country's continued economic struggles.
5 Cuban President Fidel Castro died 2016.
REUTERS
'I woke up today with my favorite recipe, chicken with beer,' he said in a since-deleted post. 'But there is no chicken.'
And he's shared photos showing his car's gas tank is full, amid a national fuel crisis.
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5 Sandro is not respecting his grandfather's memory, critics have complained.
sandro_castrox/Instagram
He was forced to apologize after posts celebrating his birthday in his bar — while the rest of the nation lived in total darkness from a blackout, raising Cuban ire, France24 reported.
'We are simple people, but every now and then, we have to take out these little toys we have at home,' he boasted at the time.
Fidel sympathizer Ernesto Limia said the younger Castro 'does not respect' the legacy of the late dictator, who is responsible for at least 10,000 deaths since seizing power.
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'Sandro has no affection for his grandfather, nor does he respect his memory,' Limia wrote.
History professor Sergio López Rivero said the grandson's antics could be dangerous to the nation's communist regime.
'In the midst of the current economic crisis, Sandro Castro's behavior seems more harmful to the regime founded by his grandfather,' López Rivero told El Pais.
'But the danger extends because in the Cuba Sandro Castro lives in, the economy is not the only problem. The lack of expectations and the feeling of being unprepared to handle unexpected challenges have worsened the crisis of legitimacy on the island.'
5 Sandro likes to play dress up for his content.
sandro_castrox/Instagram
Pro-government influencer 'El Necio' accused Sandro of being 'against security in this country' and flouting the 'ideals' of the Revolution with his outlandish online displays.
It is no secret Castro's kin — he had a total of seven sons, two daughters and at least a dozen grandkids — have lived quite comfortable lives.
But they never showed it off, critics said. Fidel was estimated to be worth $900 million when he died in 2016 at the age of 90.
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Dissident historian Manuel Cuesta Morua, based in Cuba, said the grandson's lifestyle typifies 'the distance of the grandchildren's generation from the original revolutionary project.'
As of 2024 90% of the Cuban population lives in 'extreme poverty.'
5 He's almost always seen in his videos with Cristal, a Cuban beer.
sandro_castrox/Instagram
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The influencer first went viral during the pandemic when he was seen in clips behind the wheel of a brand new Mercedes-Benz. The Cuban government now allows European cars to be imported, but only the ultra-rich can afford the associated fees and bribes, Ciber Cuba, a Cuban news outlet, reported.
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