General Francis is Out of the Game and Raul’s Grandson Ascends

General Francis is Out of the Game and Raul's Grandson Ascends / Juan
Juan Almeida

Juan Juan Almeida, 29 August 2016 — The most powerful of all the Cuban
generals, Division General Humberto Omar Francis Pardo, was replaced in
his job as Head of the General Direction of Personal Security (DGSP).

The position is now filled by Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who is
known by various nicknames, like "The Crab," "Grandson-in-Chief,"
Raulito" and even "The Arnol-mal," this last one from his frenetic
addiction to steroids and exercise.

Before creating the Commission of Defense and National Security, which
Colonel Alejandro Castro Espín directs today, the Direction of Personal
Security was the invisible apparatus with the most power on the island.
Under this nomenclature, like the current "Commission," ministries,
institutions and all the MININT (Ministry of the Interior) divisions
were subordinated.

"After a long period of stress, and multiple disagreements, Francis
suffered a cerebral stroke. He was admitted to the hospital but now is
at home," said a family member of the dismissed General.

The DGSP, intended to protect the force of the myth, the fiscal and
moral integrity of Fidel Castro and the rest of the so-called leaders of
the first level, has succeeded in amassing more cash than some armies.

The DGSP's empire

The DSP relies on a section of the transport police in order to review
the fastest road or route for moving the leader. It has a film group,
with experts in the art of photography, where they touch up the images
of the "untouchables." Another section is dedicated to documentation and
migration matters and also functions as a trip coordinator; an
anti-attack brigade consists of snipers and experts in every type of
explosive; and a medical department, in addition to having a clinic for
everything, has a fixed allocation of doctors, nurses, radiologists,
physical therapists, laboratory technicians and other health workers.

They have a division of technology and telephone, workshops, diving
masters, gymnasiums, coordinators; a very effective counterintelligence
service that, in coordination with other State agencies, looks for,
manages and controls all the information of that brotherhood, the family
circles and friendships; a department of international relations that
coordinates with other secret services the visits to Cuba of people of
interest and personalities (friends or not), whether they are
presidents, governors, heads of State, members of Congress, religious
leaders, etc.; a purchasing group in charge of pleasing even the most
bizarre tastes; a department that checks the news that should or should
not be released about the Cuban leaders; and a unit to contract service
staff (maids) who later work in the houses of those chosen.

With this new appointment, Raúl Castro, in addition to putting his
grandson in a key post, captures a vital space reserved uniquely to
Fidel, to control even the most insignificant thing, like the ruling
class's privacy in their homes. This method can have a possible
boomerang effect, because it also assures the rejection from a good part
of a strategic force that, older and in the military, were always
faithful to General Francis.

All the body guards of this prestigious group belong to the DSP. Their
work consists of taking care of them, protecting them and satisfying
them even in their most quirky desires, in addition to spying,
recruiting and blackmailing, in order to maintain, at any price, the
"moral purity" of the Cuban politicians. This convoy is in charge of
avoiding any type of problem of the leader and his closest family. And
when I say "any," it's any, from the most absurd up to the most complex,
whether it's financial, political or legal.

In Cuba, nobody can prosecute, criticize or punish a bigwig or family
member, without the authorization of the DSP.

Translated by Regina Anavy

Source: General Francis is Out of the Game and Raul's Grandson Ascends /
Juan Juan Almeida – Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/general-francis-is-out-of-the-game-and-rauls-grandson-ascends-juan-juan-almeida/