The economist Elías Amor revealed in an interview with CiberCuba that the origin of the military conglomerate GAESA dates back to a decision made by Marino Murillo, the right-hand man of Raúl Castro, who created its precursor during the Special Period to concentrate the economic power of the Armed Forces.
"It was created by Marino Murillo, who was the right hand of Raúl Castro. The former czar of the economy. Marino Murillo, the one responsible for the disaster of the Cuban economy with the task of ordering," Amor stated on the program.
According to the account, before the Special Period, Raúl Castro—then leading the army—had turned military companies into profitable entities that rewarded their collaborators with the so-called "jabita." When the crisis hit, those companies individually had "less negotiating power," prompting Murillo to create the Business Action Group (GAE).
«That GAE was the Business Action Group of the Army, which began operating in either 1993 or 1994, during the Special Period,» explained Amor, pointing out that this organization was the precursor to what is now known as GAESA, the conglomerate that controls the Cuban economy.
Amor also explained the name change of the conglomerate: originally called Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., it has now dropped the "S.A." because, in his view, "communists despise limited liability companies" and "are enemies of capital."
When Raúl Castro came to power, the conglomerate passed into the hands of his son-in-law, Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja.
"Raúl Castro came to power, what did he do? He appointed his son-in-law. These things happen. When there is no democratic parliamentary system or when there is no independent judiciary, nepotism is commonplace," stated the economist.
López-Calleja passed away on July 1, 2022, and following his death, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, Brigadier General and former first executive vice president of GAESA, was appointed to the position, confirmed in February 2023.
Amor doesn’t have a favorable opinion of her management: “They put this girl there, who is just a puppet and doesn’t even realize what’s going on.”
The expert goes further and describes a structure designed to conceal who actually holds control: "According to people familiar with GAESA's procedures, no one there knows anything. Everything is very mechanized, very formalized so that it falls into the hands of those who should have it, which I cannot disclose because at this moment..." He left the sentence unfinished.
These statements arise in the context of the massive departure of hotel chains from Cuba -Meliá, Iberostar, and Blue Diamond, among others-, all linked to GAESA, which Amor attributes to the collapse of tourism and not to the ultimatum from the Trump administration.
On May 7, the United States sanctioned GAESA and its president Ania Lastres Morera under an executive order signed by Trump on May 1, as part of the maximum pressure policy on the Cuban regime.
Amor had previously warned that the only way out for Cuba is to dismantle this framework: "GAESA must be eliminated to save Cuba", a stance he maintains in light of the accumulation of power that the military conglomerate has consolidated for more than three decades without any transparency or accountability.
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