U.S slaps new sanctions on Cuban companies key to island's economy

By — Dánica Coto, Associated Press Dánica Coto, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-slaps-new-sanctions-on-cuban-companies-key-to-islands-economy Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter U.S slaps new sanctions on Cuban companies key to island's economy World Jun 23, 2026 2:06 PM EDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government on Tuesday hit Cuban state companies with new sanctions that analysts say are expected to spook foreign investors and deepen a severe economic crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target five Cuban entities, including three linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces. Best known as GAESA, it is believed to command nearly 40% of Cuba's gross domestic product. As of early 2024, it held $14.5 billion in liquid reserves. "The situation in Cuba is devolving as the island's corrupt, brutal and anti-American Communist regime continues to prioritize its own total control over the freedom, opportunity and basic well-being of the Cuban people," Rubio wrote on X. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, accused the "regime elites" of using GAESA to "steal the island's few resources, diverting them for repression, anti-American subversion and spying instead of schools, power plants, and basic necessities for the Cuban people." Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba's foreign affairs minister, rejected the sanctions, calling Rubio "dishonest and mendacious." "Cuba has proven stronger, more capable, and more effective than he anticipated in the face of the ruthless aggression and collective punishment inflicted upon its people and their living conditions," he wrote on X. "What this individual is promoting from the world's greatest power is a crime." Anyone that provides services to the targeted Cuban entities risks being sanctioned and cut off from the U.S. financial system. READ MORE: Supreme Court OKs ExxonMobil lawsuit over Cuban property seized by Fidel Castro's government "By designating specific entities, they're making it clear to foreign investors: 'If your business in Cuba touches any of these folks, you risk being banned,'" said Michael Bustamante, a professor and chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami. "For most of these companies, it's a bridge too far," he said of the impact of the new sanctions. The 5 entities sanctioned are key to Cuba's economy Almacenes Universales S.A., or AUSA, is among the five entities sanctioned. As the Cuban government's main logistics and warehousing company, it holds up the island's export and import system. It's also the main storage company used by the state, Cuba's private sector and foreign investor partners, Bustamante said. Last week, Cuba announced a series of economic reforms, including allowing the private sector to import goods without using the state as an intermediary. But