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The Cuban activist Rosa María Payá expressed her gratitude this Saturday to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the executive order that expands sanctions against the Cuban regime, signed on Friday by Trump and targeting those responsible for repression on the island.
"Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Rubio, for sanctioning those responsible for the repression in Cuba," wrote Payá on the social network X, where she highlighted that "the thugs, the heads of GAESA who profit from our people's misery, and the family that hides their stolen fortune have lost their impunity."
Payá closed his message with a phrase that encapsulates the sentiment of the Cuban opposition: «The freedom of Cuba is approaching».
The executive order, signed on May 1, expands sanctions against the regime in Havana and freezes assets on U.S. territory while barring entry into the country for officials, executives, board members, and their relatives connected to repression and corruption.
Among the central objectives is GAESA (Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.), the military conglomerate that controls between 40% and 70% of the formal Cuban economy and has assets estimated at over 18 billion dollars.
The measure also includes secondary sanctions against foreign banks and financial institutions that conduct significant transactions with sanctioned Cuban entities, threatening their access to the U.S. financial system.
The order took effect immediately and without prior notification, specifically to prevent quick fund transfers by those affected.
Payá, commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the period 2026-2029 and founder of Cuba Decide, has been one of the most active voices in supporting Washington's pressure strategy against the dictatorship.
Days earlier, the activist had already called for joining forces with the United States to achieve democratic transition in Cuba, aligning with Rubio's statements regarding the possibility of reforms on the island.
The new order is part of the maximum pressure strategy of Trump against Cuba, which since January 2026 has imposed more than 240 new sanctions and intercepted at least seven tankers carrying petroleum destined for the island.
The regime's reaction was immediate: Miguel Díaz-Canel rejected the sanctions that same Friday, labeling them as "coercive measures" intended to intimidate Cuba, while Raúl Castro made a public appearance at the International Workers' Day parade in what was interpreted as a gesture of projecting strength.
The Cuban-American congressman Carlos Giménez (R-FL) supported the executive order, deeming it necessary to dismantle the "security apparatus that incarcerates political prisoners and oppresses the people."
Senator Rick Scott had asked Trump in April to intensify sanctions against GAESA and Cuban medical missions, directly highlighting the assets of the military conglomerate as a primary target.
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