Rubio offers Cuba 'new relationship' in Spanish-language appeal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a Spanish-language message Wednesday directly to the Cuban people, offering a "new relationship" with the United States while condemning the island's current leadership and its control by a military-linked business conglomerate.

In the message posted to X, Rubio criticized the Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., or GAESA, a politically-connected Cuban business organization founded by former leader Raúl Castro and run by Cuba's armed forces. Rubio alleged that GAESA controls 70 percent of Cuba's economy and holds $18 billion in assets.

"Cuba is controlled by GAESA," Rubio said. "While you suffer, these businessmen have $18 billion in assets and control 70% of Cuba's economy."

Rubio blamed GAESA for Cuba's economic hardship rather than U.S. policy. "The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil blockade by the US," he stated, attributing the power shortages to the conglomerate's management.

The secretary detailed GAESA's reach across multiple sectors of the Cuban economy. "They profit from hotels, construction, banks, stores and even from the money your relatives send you from the U.S. everything, everything passes through their hands," Rubio said in the Spanish-language address. He added that while GAESA retains a percentage of remittances sent from the United States, none of the conglomerate's profits reach ordinary Cubans.

Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Cuba to Florida two years before Fidel Castro came to power, framed the Trump administration's position as distinct from previous U.S. policy toward the island. "President Trump is offering a new relationship between the US and Cuba. But it must be with you, the Cuban people, and not GAESA," he said.

As part of the proposed new relationship, the Trump administration is offering $100 million in food and medical assistance to the Cuban people. The aid package represents a direct appeal to Cuban citizens over the heads of the government and military leadership.

The message came as U.S. officials are preparing to announce an expected indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, according to officials familiar with the matter.