Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who used President Trump’s May 1 executive order, announced Thursday that the U.S. sanctioned GAESA, its executive Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, and the Moa Nickel joint venture.
- GAESA is a military-run conglomerate that U.S. officials say controls a large share of Cuba’s economy, and the State Department warned that more designations are likely.
- Sherritt International said it suspended its Cuba joint-venture activities after the sanctions, began repatriating expatriate staff, and confirmed three directors resigned.
- United Nations experts condemned the effective fuel blockade as “energy starvation” that is worsening blackouts and delaying medical care, with reports of tens of thousands of surgeries now backlogged.
- U.S. officials told the Associated Press there is no plan for an imminent invasion as talks continue over conditional aid and internet access, and analysts said sanctioning Moa Nickel could affect nickel supplies used in global battery manufacturing.