Only shortly after leaving the Vatican on May 7, where he met with Pope Leo XIV, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a vicious set of new sanctions to be imposed on Cuba, targeting two entities that are central to the functioning of the national economy. Named are the military economic complex, GAESA, and its executive director Guillermina Lastres Morera, and the Moa Nickel SA (MINSA), a joint venture with Canada’s Sherritt International Corporation that operates the metals and mining sector of the Cuban economy.
Rubio said he was acting under the aegis of U.S. President Donald Trump’s May 1 Executive Order, which announced punishment for individuals accused of involvement in Cuba’s “repressive apparatus” and described plans to sanction any foreign entities or financial institutions that do business with Cuba. These new measures, he said, are intended “to address the pressing national security threats posed by Cuba’s communist regime” not only to the U.S. but to the entire Western Hemisphere, “and hold accountable the regime and those who provide it material or financial support.”
