In the midst of the most severe economic collapse Cuba has experienced since the fall of the socialist bloc, with extended blackouts, hospitals lacking supplies, pharmacies emptied, and citizens scavenging for food in the trash, a state entity has accumulated a silent and opaque fortune: GAESA, the business conglomerate of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
A report from the Miami Herald, based on 22 leaked internal financial documents from 2023 and 2024, reveals that the Cuban military controls over 18 billion dollars in liquid assets, which is more than the international reserves of countries like Panama or Uruguay.
The documents include balance sheets, income statements, sales and profit reports, and reveal the internal workings of at least 25 companies grouped under the umbrella of GAESA, among them CIMEX, Gaviota, TRD Caribe, and Almacenes Universales. All operate in strategic areas of the economy: tourism, retail, logistics, finance, and remittances.
A business network without state supervision
The existence and power of GAESA are not new. What is indeed novel is the amount of accounting details revealed by the documents obtained by the Herald, and their direct implication in the structural impoverishment of the country.
Under the leadership of Raúl Castro, who still maintains real control of the country at 94 years of age, GAESA has acted as a state within a state. According to economist Pavel Vidal, who reviewed the documents at the request of the Herald, the conglomerate has effectively assumed the role of a parallel central bank, accumulating foreign currency reserves, without institutional oversight or accountability.
For years, the regime has solely blamed the U.S. embargo for the shortages on the island, but financial documents show that the funds to avert the crisis exist; they are simply not allocated to resolving it.
The figures: Revenues, profits, and reserves
In the first quarter of 2024, GAESA reported net profits of over 2.1 billion dollars, according to the analyzed records. That same year, the company Gaviota —its tourism arm— had deposits of 8.5 billion dollars, while others such as TRD Caribe and Almacenes Universales added another 5 billion.
Although tourism has fallen by more than 60% compared to 2019 and the new hotels are almost empty, GAESA has continued investing millions in hotel construction. Meanwhile, the average monthly salary on the island was just 5,839 Cuban pesos (16 dollars), and pensions were only 1,999 pesos (5 dollars).
The contradiction is flagrant: while the country is suffering, a military elite is amassing dollars without any redistribution.
The hidden subsidy: The State finances GAESA
One of the most alarming revelations from the documents shared by the Herald and reviewed by CiberCuba is that GAESA not only concentrates resources but also receives funds from the state budget.
According to its balance for August 2024, the conglomerate received 9,260 million Cuban pesos from the State, while it only paid 920 million in taxes in national currency. In dollars, its tax contribution was zero.
This means that the Cuban state subsidizes a military structure with public funds that claims to be independent and efficient. GAESA operates as a private company, but it is funded by state money, with no social accountability or institutional transparency.
Currency hoarding: Over 75% in dollars
From the documents shared by the Herald and the analysis conducted by CiberCuba of the liquid assets, it is revealed that, in March 2024, GAESA held 14.467 billion dollars deposited in banks, which constitutes 76% of its total liquidity. Only a smaller fraction was in Cuban pesos.
This ultra-conservative financial policy—holding onto dollars and operating in pesos—allows GAESA to survive inflation, monetary chaos, and the recession affecting non-military state enterprises. Furthermore, it strengthens its power outside the official economic system.
Opaque accounting and manipulation of figures
The financial documents shared by the Miami Herald reveal accounting practices that violate basic international principles.
For example, figures in pesos and dollars are added directly, without an explicit exchange rate, as if both currencies held the same value. This operation conceals the true weight of money in foreign currencies and skews balances and results.
In addition, there are significant differences between the reported net worth and the calculated one. In August 2024, GAESA reported assets of $2.057 billion, but the actual value—assets minus liabilities—was $12.863 billion. In March, the discrepancy was even greater.
This practice allows GAESA to portray less economic power than it actually possesses, complicating analysis by external auditors or analysts.
And what about the regime's priorities?
Military and hotel expenditures stand in stark contrast to the basic unmet needs of the population. According to official figures, only 43 million dollars annually are needed to cover the supply of 63 essential medicines, and 250 million to stabilize the national electrical grid.
GAESA, which in theory is a state-owned business conglomerate, could cover those expenses without affecting its operating capital, but it does not. Instead, it keeps its profits in accounts abroad or within its own financial entities such as RAFIN SA, without any civil control mechanisms in place.
United States and the sanctions
In response to this hidden economic power, the United States government —under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio— has strengthened sanctions against entities linked to GAESA.
Rubio has warned that "GAESA is the financial backbone of the Cuban regime" and has promoted the inclusion of more of its subsidiaries on restricted company lists.
But the most compelling evidence is not provided by Washington, but rather by the leaked internal documents of the regime. Cuba does not suffer solely from sanctions: its crisis is largely self-inflicted by its military and political elite.
A future mortgaged by opacity
Economists consulted by the Herald and by CiberCuba agree: GAESA operates as a parallel state, absorbing the country's most valuable resources without redistributing them. It does this through a scheme of tax evasion, hidden subsidies, and opaque accounting.
In any future political transition scenario, military control over these reserves will be a fundamental obstacle. As economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo warned in the Miami Herald: “These resources belong to the Cuban people and must be under their control.”
Sources:
- Miami Herald, “Where is the money from Cuba?”, investigation by Nora Gámez Torres, August 6, 2025.
- Internal financial documentation of GAESA (2023–2024), shared by the Miami Herald and analyzed by the editorial team of CiberCuba.
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