In a video address on May 20, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against GAESA, an opaque conglomerate familiar to experts on Cuba but largely unknown to the wider public.In his address, Rubio spoke of the Grupo de Administracion Empresarial, roughly translated to “business administration group,” in damning terms, blaming it for the economic malaise Cuba has long suffered from. He portrayed GAESA as a benevolent entity holding the Cuban people hostage, a state of affairs the United States would no longer tolerate.“The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S.,” Rubio said. “As you know, better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years. The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.
“Today, Cuba is not controlled by any ‘revolution.’ Cuba is controlled by GAESA,” he declared. “A ‘state within the state’ that is accountable to no one and hoards the profits from its businesses for the benefit of a small elite. And the only role played by the so-called ‘government’ is to demand that you continue making ‘sacrifices’ and repressing anyone who dares to complain.”
