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The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced this Tuesday new sanctions against entities linked to the Cuban military conglomerate GAESA, which he accused of diverting resources from the island to benefit the regime's elites instead of addressing the needs of the population.
In a post on X, Rubio stated that the situation in Cuba "is deteriorating" while the Cuban government continues to prioritize "its total control over the freedom, opportunities, and basic welfare of the Cuban people."
The head of US diplomacy stated that GAESA has consistently served as "the main vehicle" for the regime's elites to appropriate the scarce resources of the country and allocate them to repression, anti-American subversion, and espionage, rather than investing them in schools, power plants, and other basic needs of the population.
According to Rubio, the new designations include entities from the GAESA network associated with the movement of money and physical assets of the conglomerate, as well as companies responsible for exploiting Cuba's mineral and metal reserves to obtain what he termed as "illicit profits."
The Secretary of State also warned that any person or entity providing services to the sanctioned actors risks facing sanctions themselves.
He also urged foreign banks and other companies that have relationships with these entities to immediately freeze those activities.
The State Department specified in a statement that Rubio designated five Cuban entities generating revenue for the regime, including three associated with the already sanctioned Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), in addition to Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero, the wife of Alejandro Castro Espín.
Moreover, the text asserts that GAESA continues to operate as the "financial muscle" behind the repressive apparatus of the Cuban regime.
Among the sanctioned entities is Almacenes Universales S.A. (AUSA), a subsidiary of GAESA engaged in logistics, storage, and transportation services, which also oversees container traffic in the Mariel Special Development Zone.
RAFIN S.A. and Banco Financiero Internacional S.A. (BFI) were also sanctioned, two entities connected to the military conglomerate operating in the financial services sector.
According to the Department of State, RAFIN serves as a key component of GAESA's financial management, while BFI handles most of the transactions related to foreign entities operating inside and outside Cuba.
The sanctions also include GeoMinera S.A. and Empresa Siderúrgica José Martí (Antillana de Acero), identified for their operations in the metals and mining sector of the Cuban economy.
The statement highlights that GeoMinera, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, manages non-nickel metallic mineral assets and oversees Minera La Victoria S.A., which was previously sanctioned by Washington.
The note adds that Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero was appointed for being an adult relative (wife) of Alejandro Castro Espín, the former head of Cuban intelligence services and son of Raúl Castro, who had already been sanctioned by the United States in early June.
The State Department indicated that these actions are taken under Executive Order 14404, which authorizes broad sanctions against individuals and entities linked to repression in Cuba, the regime's security apparatus, and other activities that Washington considers threats to national security and U.S. foreign policy.
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