Marco Rubio defends new American sanctions against Cuba

Senator Marco Rubio, a US official, defended on Friday the Trump administration’s decision to impose new sanctions on Cuba, specifically targeting GAESA, or Grupo de Administración Empresarial, a conglomerate of companies owned by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

In addition to GAESA and its director, the sanctions announced on Thursday also targeted Moa Nickel, a Cuban joint venture with the Canadian company Sherritt International, which immediately announced its withdrawal from the business, ending 32 years of presence on the island.

The decree on May 1st and the new designations announced on May 7th significantly expand the legal authority allowing the US government to impose sanctions on individuals and businesses in third countries, explained Lee Schlenker, a researcher associated with the Quincy Institute’s Global South program.

“Not only are their assets subject to being frozen, but their accounts in the United States, as well as their travel to the United States, those of their shareholders, investors or employees, are also affected,” emphasized Mr. Schlenker. “This will inevitably have a tremendously important impact on the presence of foreign companies in Cuba.”

Economist Pavel Vidal, a Cuba specialist at Javeriana Pontifical University, mentioned to the Associated Press that these measures were “very worrying” for an economy already “practically paralyzed.”

The United States has been blocking fuel shipments to Cuba since January, exacerbating the economic crisis the island has been facing for years.

Mr. Vidal pointed out that the new sanctions could discourage the remaining partners of GAESA, asserting that “very few of them will take the risk of defying them.”

“These new measures amount to ‘total isolation’,” estimated Mr. Vidal, driven by the fear they instill in banks, insurers, and international companies.

As an expert who has analyzed GAESA’s internal documents, Mr. Vidal noted that the conglomerate’s deep presence in almost all sectors of the Cuban economy makes any connection with the island a risk under the new US rules.

According to reports analyzed by Mr. Vidal, GAESA controls nearly 40% of Cuba’s GDP. By early 2024, the conglomerate held $14.5 billion in liquid reserves, with annual revenues representing three times the total budget of the Cuban state.

Created in the 1990s under military control, GAESA was the Cuban armed forces’ strategic response to the economic collapse following the Soviet Union’s fall and the tightening of US sanctions at that time.

Despite being state-owned, GAESA is not subject to audits by the General Comptroller’s Office. Gladys Bejerano, the entity’s director, acknowledged this lack of oversight in an interview in 2024; soon after, she retired.

For years, until his death in July 2022, Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja held the position of GAESA’s general director. As the former president Raúl Castro’s son-in-law, he was a pillar of the family, a legacy perpetuated by his son, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.

While the younger Castro officially holds the position of head of his grandfather’s inner circle, he has recently emerged as a key intermediary in sensitive discussions with the United States.

This week’s sanctions also added Ania Guillermina Lastres to the US blacklist. As López-Calleja’s successor, she currently serves as GAESA’s executive president, overseeing the conglomerate’s vast international financial interests.

With limited available information, GAESA supervises dozens of retail outlets, offering everything from food and clothing to appliances, as well as an extensive service network including car rental agencies and travel agencies.

GAESA notably manages Cuban financial institutions, currency exchange offices, and the administration of the country’s main hotels.

In statements to the press on Friday, Senator Rubio stated that the sanctions were not targeting the Cuban people and described GAESA as a company that “seizes everything that brings in money to Cuba and puts it in the pockets of a few regime insiders.”

Cuban authorities argue that these sanctions are a form of “collective punishment” aimed at strangling the island’s economy, claiming that the Trump administration’s policies show disdain for the well-being of the Cuban people in favor of a political lever.

These new sanctions against Havana add to the weight of the American energy blockade, which has caused widespread water and electricity cuts as well as severe shortages of gas and water.

Andrea Rodríguez, The Associated Press