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The Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an official statement this Thursday denouncing that the wealth accumulated by GAESA is not used to alleviate the suffering of the Cuban people, but rather to "enrich the elites of Havana" and finance espionage and subversion campaigns, following the order for the arrest of a Cuban citizen linked to the leadership of the military conglomerate.
The statement, issued by the Department of State, came after Rubio ordered the revocation of the permanent residency of Adys Lastres Morera, sister of Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, executive president of GAESA and brigade general of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.
Adys Lastres Morera was arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miami, where she had been living since obtaining her permanent residency on January 13, 2023, and remains in federal custody.
Rubio described GAESA as a financial conglomerate controlled by the Cuban military that allows "a small circle of regime elites to plunder the island's remaining resources," accumulating up to 20 billion dollars in illicit funds in hidden bank accounts abroad.
The head of U.S. diplomacy was straightforward in highlighting the contrast between that wealth and the daily reality of Cubans: "While everyday Cubans endure daily blackouts and severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, the ill-gotten riches of GAESA are not being used to repair the collapsing electrical grid, supply empty pharmacies, or feed hungry families."
Rubio identified Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera as the highest-ranking executive of GAESA responsible for managing those illegal international assets, used "not to improve the lives of the Cuban people, but to finance the luxurious lifestyles of the Castro family members and other regime elites, and to fund influence operations abroad."
The arrest of Adys Lastres Morera is part of a broader policy of pressure against the Cuban regime that includes sanctions and immigration measures against relatives of regime elites residing in the United States.
On May 7, Washington announced the first designations under Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, which included GAESA, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, and the mining company Moa Nickel S.A.
Foreign companies and financial institutions have until June 5th to terminate operations with GAESA before facing potential secondary sanctions.
Rubio harshly criticized previous administrations for allowing families of Cuban military elites and Iranian terrorists to "enjoy luxurious lifestyles in our country funded with blood money, while the people they oppress at home suffer in increasingly desperate circumstances."
The Secretary of State warned that that era is over: "I want to be very clear: if you threaten the national security of the United States, there will be no place on this earth—and certainly not in our country—where you and your accomplices can live in luxury. We will find you and hold you accountable."
Rubio concluded his statement with a direct message to the leadership of the conglomerate: "To the members of GAESA and the Cuban communist mafia, we send a clear message: the complacency with the past is over. Return the funds you have stolen from the Cuban people, implement reforms to improve the lives of ordinary Cubans, and allow the Cuban people to enjoy the freedom, opportunities, and dignity they yearn for and deserve."
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