He was appointed as governor of Cuba in 1747, and during his time in the colony owned several slaves, including Briton Hammon.

[1] He was governor of Cuba in 1760 at the time of the death of the previous viceroy, Agustín de Ahumada.

The Audiencia possessed sealed orders to be opened on the death of Ahumada, and these named Cajigal to fill the position on an interim basis.

He removed the sales tax on products of iron and steel to stimulate construction and the mining of that metal.

To augment revenue, he sold the monopoly on the production of playing cards and farmed out the collection of customs duties at Veracruz for five years.