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The investigation by the Miami Herald which revealed that the Cuban military conglomerate GAESA has accumulated $18 billion in current assets, of which $14.5 billion are deposited in unidentified bank accounts, has sparked a wave of reactions among Cuban American lawmakers in the United States Congress.
The Republican representatives Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, and Carlos A. Giménez, all from Florida, agreed on the need to increase international pressure on the regime in Havana and
According to documents obtained by the Herald, GAESA —controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces— generated $2.1 billion in net profits in the first quarter of 2024, while the island suffered power outages, a collapse of the electrical system, and a shortage of basic goods. In 2023, its profits reached $7.2 billion in just eight months.
Plans for new sanctions and financial blockades
The congressman Carlos Giménez stated that he will work alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "hold the regime and its accomplices accountable," describing the Cuban government as "murderous, cruel, and deeply corrupt."
According to the Miami Herald, the Republican stated that they will use “all available diplomatic and legal tools to freeze the regime's assets” and to pressure foreign governments that support it.
For his part, Díaz-Balart recalled that he introduced a bill for the fiscal year 2026 budget that would deny U.S. aid to governments or entities that do business with Cuban military companies. "While the regime blames the embargo, secret records show that the Cuban military is flush with cash," he wrote on X.
Congresswoman Salazar accused the regime of lying about the impact of the embargo: "The real blockade of Cuba is the Cuban dictatorship. GAESA accumulates billions that are not used to feed the people or to repair the power grid, but to suppress them. The suffering of the Cubans is not caused by the embargo, but by the criminals in power."
Silence in Havana
Although these statements often provoke angry reactions in official media, the Cuban regime has remained silent regarding the report and the figures revealed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment, and the social media accounts of senior diplomats have avoided the subject. On the day of the publication, the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel preferred to tweet about sports, cultural anniversaries, and the war in Gaza.
The Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the State Department shared the research on X, asking: “If the Cuban military's secret money is not meeting the needs of the people, what is it being used for and who is really governing Cuba?.”
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