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HAVANA — <\/span>U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday defended the Trump administration’s decision to slap new sanctions on Cuba<\/a>, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administraci\u00f3n Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.<\/p>\n In addition to GAESA and its leader, the sanctions announced Thursday include Moa Nickel, a Cuban joint venture with Canada’s Sherritt International, which immediately announced it would withdraw from the business, ending a 32-year presence on the island.<\/p>\n The May 1 executive order and the new designations announced May 7 significantly expand the legal authority through which the U.S. government can levy sanctions on third-country nationals and firms, explained Lee Schlenker, a research associate at the Quincy Institute\u2019s Global South program, a Washington think tank.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only are they subject to having their assets frozen but their U.S. accounts as well as their travel to the U.S., that of their shareholders, investors or employees,\u201d said Schlenker. \u201cThis is bound to have an extremely significant impact of the presence of foreign companies\u201d in Cuba.<\/p>\n Economist Pavel Vidal, a Cuba expert at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, told The Associated Press that the measures are \u201cvery concerning\u201d for an economy already \u201cpractically paralyzed.\u201d The U.S. has blocked fuel shipments to Cuba since January, further escalating the island’s yearslong economic crisis. Vidal noted that the new sanctions would likely deter GAESA\u2019s remaining partners, saying that \u201cvery few will risk defying them.\u201d<\/p>\n The new measures amount to \u201ctotal isolation,\u201d said Vidal, driven by the fear they instill in international banks, insurers and corporations.<\/p>\n As an expert who has analyzed GAESA\u2019s internal documents, Vidal noted that the conglomerate\u2019s deep reach into nearly every sector of the Cuban economy makes any connection to the island a potential liability under the new U.S. rules.<\/p>\n According to Vidal, GAESA commands nearly 40% of Cuba\u2019s gross domestic product. As of early 2024, the conglomerate held $14.5 billion in liquid reserves, with annual revenues triple the size of the entire Cuban state budget.<\/p>\n Established in the 1990s under military control, GAESA was the Cuban Armed Forces\u2019 strategic response to the economic collapse that followed the Soviet Union\u2019s fall and the tightening of U.S. sanctions in place at the time.<\/p>\n Despite being state-owned, GAESA\u2019s accounts are exempt from audits by the Office of the Comptroller General. Gladys Bejerano, the entity\u2019s director, admitted to this lack of oversight in a 2024 interview; shortly thereafter, she retired.<\/p>\n For years, until his death in July 2022, Luis Alberto Rodr\u00edguez L\u00f3pez-Calleja served as GAESA’s general manager. As the son-in-law of former President Ra\u00fal Castro<\/a>, he was a pillar of the family \u2014 a legacy continued by his son, Ra\u00fal Guillermo Rodr\u00edguez Castro. While the younger Castro officially serves as his grandfather\u2019s chief bodyguard, he has recently emerged as a pivotal intermediary in sensitive discussions with the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n This week’s sanctions also added Ania Guillermina Lastres to the U.S. blacklist. As the successor to L\u00f3pez-Calleja, she currently serves as GAESA\u2019s executive president, overseeing the conglomerate\u2019s vast international financial interests.<\/p>\n Based on the limited information available, GAESA oversees dozens of retail outlets \u2014 selling everything from food and clothing to home appliances \u2014 as well as a sprawling service network that includes car rentals and travel agencies. Notably, it also manages Cuba\u2019s financial institutions, currency exchange bureaus, and the administration of the country\u2019s major hotels<\/a>.<\/p>\n In remarks to the press Friday, Rubio said the sanctions were not on the Cuban people and he referred to GAESA as a company that \u201cis taking anything that makes money in Cuba and illegally putting it into the pockets of a few regime insiders.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuban authorities maintain that the sanctions constitute \u201ccollective punishment\u201d designed to strangle the island\u2019s economy, arguing the Trump administration\u2019s policies show a disregard for the welfare of the Cuban people in favor of political leverage.<\/p>\n The new sanctions on Havana come under the weight of a U.S. energy blockade<\/a> that has caused sweeping water and power outages along with severe gas and water shortages.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n