Latino News: Marco Rubio Proposes a “New Cuba” Outside of Military Control

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday called on “ordinary Cubans” on the island to build a “new Cuba” proposed by President Donald Trump, outside the control of the military elites and with a renewed relationship with Washington.  The head of US diplomacy, of Cuban descent, published a five-minute video message, coinciding with the anniversary of the first inauguration of a democratically elected president in the Caribbean country, a date that the Cuban government does not commemorate.  “On this day in 1902, the Cuban flag flew for the first time over an independent country. But I know that today you, who call the island your home, are going through unimaginable difficulties,” Rubio said, referring to the acute humanitarian and economic crisis the nation is suffering, aggravated by the current U.S. oil embargo. 

He insisted that “the real reason” Cubans “have no electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control their country have looted billions of dollars” and accused the military-run business conglomerate Gaesa, founded by former President Raúl Castro, of enriching itself while the people suffer. He also warned that when Venezuela’s oil subsidy ended, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by Washington last January, the military elite began buying fuel for their own use while demanding “sacrifices,” although without alluding to Trump’s order to prevent crude oil from reaching the country.  “President Trump is offering a new path (for relations) between the U.S. and a new Cuba.  A new Cuba where you, ordinary Cubans, can own not just Gaesa, but also gas stations, clothing stores, and restaurants,” Rubio said, citing the examples of neighboring Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. 

He emphasized that “currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control the country.”  Rubio’s message comes amid renewed pressure from Washington against Havana, threats from Trump that he will take control of the island “one way or another,” and sanctions against the Cuban leadership and Gaesa.  In addition, the Justice Department is expected to formally indict former President Raúl Castro, 94, on Wednesday in a case related to the downing of Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.  This announcement would take place amid the May 20th commemoration in Miami by the Cuban exile community, which claims the date as the island’s Independence Day, even though the communist island’s government does not commemorate it and considers it the beginning of a republic under the tutelage of the United States.

Cuban Woman Arrested by ICE and has her Residency Revoked: Sister of Gaesa Military Company Executive

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Thursday the arrest of Cuban citizen Adys Lastres Morera, sister of a top executive of the Cuban military conglomerate Gaesa, after revoking her permanent residency, accusing her of collaborating with Havana and posing a threat to national security. “Morera was managing real estate assets and living in Florida, while also assisting the communist regime in Havana, until I canceled her permanent resident status,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on his official Twitter account. 

The head of US diplomacy, of Cuban descent, added that Lastres Morera was arrested this Thursday and was taken into ICE custody, adding that “there will be no place on this planet — much less in our country — where foreign nationals who threaten our national security can live in luxury,” he maintained.  US authorities maintain that Adys Lastres Morera’s sister, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, is the “executive president of GAESA, a corrupt organization that controls 70% of the Cuban economy.” 

Gaesa, the business conglomerate controlled by the Cuban Armed Forces, was sanctioned this month by the Donald Trump Administration, since according to the US government that structure controls a significant part of the island’s economy.  ICE indicated in a statement that the arrest occurred in coordination with its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division and maintained that Lastres Morera “benefited” from ties with the Cuban economic-military apparatus while residing in the United States as a permanent resident. 

The agency did not immediately detail any additional criminal charges against her.  On May 7, the United States sanctioned the Cuban military conglomerate Gaesa, its director, and the mining company Moa Nickel, a joint venture with the Canadian company Sherritt, as part of actions to stifle the island’s economy amid Trump’s threats to take control of the Caribbean nation.  Furthermore, Morera’s arrest comes a day after the United States formally accused former Cuban leader Raul Castro of murder, conspiracy to kill American citizens, and destruction of an aircraft for an incident that occurred in 1996.