With average monthly wages in Cuba stuck at $16.50, the Caribbean island is one of the poorest countries in Latin America.
However, amid all the economic turmoil, there is one person who appears unfazed and continues to flash a lavish lifestyle – communist higher up Fidel Castro’s influencer grandson, Sandro.
The 33-year-old has over 121,000 followers on Instagram, where he flaunts luxury at every turn.
He sips Cristal beer aboard yachts, speeds through Havana in Mercedes‑Benz cars, and hosts parties at EFE Bar, his exclusive venue where entry fees reach 1,000 CUP and minimum table bills climb to 15,000 CUP.
That is hundreds of times what most Cubans earn in a month.
He recently posted reels using Bad Bunny’s music to mock blackout‑ridden Havana, the nation’s capital.
He joked about giving electricity outages like the national power company, the Unión Eléctrica, on Instagram.
In one of his most controversial clips, he said Cristal beer was ‘medicine’ that must not be missing at his bar.
Sandro also shares posts showing him relaxing at El Patrón, a countryside retreat charging around $100 per night, which is more than four months of an average Cuban’s monthly wage.
Born to Alexis Castro Soto del Valle, one of Castro’s five sons, he grew up inside the gated enclave of Punto Cero, surrounded by comforts denied to most Cubans.
He smokes pricey Habanos cigars, wears designer clothes, plays reggaeton from Havana streets, and has built a public image that shows his family’s privilege and the grip they had on power.
Despite this, no one has independently assessed Sandro’s net worth.
Unlike his grandfather, who Forbes once estimated to be worth around $900 million, and Raúl Castro, estimated at roughly $100 million, Sandro’s finances remain secretive.
Analysts believe he profits from his nightlife businesses – such as EFE and Fantaxy – his Instagram influence, and likely implicit ties to family assets.
Cuban society sees him as living off the revolution, with many dissidents sharing unfavourable opinions of him.
In 2021, when a video showing him in a flashy Mercedes-Benz went viral, he scrambled to do damage control.
He said in an apology video: ‘The car in which I’m recording the video belongs to a friend of mine who lent it to me because I like cars and wanted to test it out.’
But the damage had been done. In the clip, which amassed several views online, Sandro boasted about the ‘toys’ he had at home, with many saying it was a reference to his cars.
The video came at a time when supplies in Cuba were scarce and made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
Economically, Cuba is sinking – its GDP shrank 1.1 per cent in 2024, marking five straight years of recession and a near‑10 per cent drop since 2019.
Inflation keeps rising, shortages of food, fuel and medicine are routine, and blackouts sometimes last 16 to 20 hours a day.
The country is in its worst social crisis in decades while Sandro parades imported meals, branded cocktails and Cristal giveaways.
Social media users have often waded into his showcase. They mock how Cuban elites flaunt while ordinary citizens starve.
One user stated that he is part of an elite who have profited off the hard work of the average worker.
His behaviour has drawn internal criticism, too. His uncle Alex Castro reportedly called him ‘papa podrida’ (rotten potato) while state intellectual Ernesto Limia savagely labelled him ‘imbecile.’
But the current regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel has provided no visible rebuke, and Sandro continues to post provocatively.
In a scathing take down, journalist Mónica Baró is reported to have said: ‘While Raúl and Fidel spent decades asking the Cuban people for efforts and sacrifices, they prohibited them from doing anything that came to mind, from communicating with relatives abroad to entering a hotel or having a cellphone plan, their family lived amidst privileges.’
When the average Cuban makes $16 to 25 per month, Sandro spends at levels foreign to the majority of citizens.
He labels a beer ‘Cristach,’ mocks power cuts, and flaunts a full tank of fuel, all during a national exodus and mass despair across the island.
On his social media pages, there are videos of women twerking seductively and clips of him riding a horse wearing military attire.
Sandro Castro isn’t just a flashy influencer. His detractors say he is an emblem of systemic inequality – a man whose inherited status and visible wealth reveal Cuba’s biggest irony.
Many critics opine that his life is a testament that the Cuban revolution was never designed for everyone.
While citizens scrape by, he raves in neon lights with drinks in hand, living out the luxury that his grandfather once forbade.
