Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said that “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.” Despite his saying this in the context of if the U.S. allowed the overthrow of the South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam War, a friendship with the U.S. would be seen as deadly, he couldn’t have been more right. Not only was it a correct assessment back then, but looking at it in a broader context today, such as Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba negotiating with the U.S., is proving just how dangerous it can be.
For Cuba, those negotiations have continued for more than 65 years. Every attempt to normalize relations between the two countries is thwarted by Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike, including every president since 1959. Some may argue that former President Barack Obama was different, and on the surface, he was. But, while his administration was normalizing relations in the public eye, it was also working behind the scenes to foment a USAID-backed uprising that could lead to the overthrow of the Cuban government.
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While it may seem that Cuban leaders and lawmakers haven’t learned from this history, the reality is that they have a population of 10 million people who are suffering and facing acute food shortages due to the crisis created by the U.S.’s unilateral blockade of the island. Cuban leaders have offered concessions for decades. The latest are no different. Similarly, the U.S. responding with more sanctions to undermine the latest economic reforms is also no different.
In 2019, Cuba implemented major economic reforms following a referendum in which the vast majority of Cubans voted in favor of. Those reforms made major changes, such as allowing more foreign investment. But the most discussed change was the expansion of private businesses, allowing them to flourish and Cuba’s economy to grow. It came despite the “maximum pressure” sanctions imposed during Trump’s first term and continued by former President Joe Biden. That growth is what Trump is targeting now.
Days after Cuba announced that it would implement market reforms similar to those of Vietnam and China, a key, decades-long U.S. demand, the White House responded with additional sanctions. The same day, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations, ExxonMobil specifically, can sue the Cuban government for reparations regarding the 1959 to 1968 nationalization of resources, land, and Cuba’s economy. Cuba has offered to settle these debts since 1960. The U.S. government, under both Democratic and Republican control, has interfered and refused to discuss it. Cuba has settled with every nation except the U.S.
The latest sanctions against Cuban-owned entities include: Almacenes Universales S.A., a Cuban logistics company covering storage, handling, transportation services, and port activities; Rafin S.A., a key financial management component of the Cuban government; and Banco Financiero Internacional S.A., a commercial bank that handles the vast majority of transactions in and out of Cuba. Additionally, in the mining sector, GeoMinera, S.A., manages Cuba’s non-nickel mineral assets and its relationship with Australian-based Antilles Gold, and Empresa Siderurgica Jose Marti, Cuba’s largest raw steel producer, were both sanctioned.
The sanctions focus on anything linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a conglomerate that runs much of Cuba’s economy, infrastructure, and social services. GAESA was created in 1995 out of desperation to stem critical shortages and an economic collapse, an era referred to as the “Special Period” in Cuba. GAESA’s core function is to try to circumvent sanctions and provide the resources its people need. For years, many lies have been spread about GAESA, including recently, which helped Secretary of State Marco Rubio create a pretext to launch his attacks on the institution and further cripple the Cuban people.
Shortly after the sanctions were announced, Rubio released a statement. During remarks to the press several hours later in Abu Dhabi, Cuba was not mentioned by any reporters or Rubio.
“Two of the entities designated today are GAESA-linked financial institutions associated with moving money on the regime’s behalf, and one is a GAESA-linked logistics company that executes the regime’s bidding across the island,” Rubio said. “I am also designating two additional entities generating revenue for Cuba through the exploitation of the island’s mineral and metal reserves, including Cuba’s state-owned GeoMinera.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded to the latest sanctions on social media.
“The government of the U.S., led by its dishonest and mendacious Secretary of State, continues the steps to tighten the noose around the economy of Cuba, as the latter proves stronger, more capable, and more effective than he expected in the face of ruthless aggression and collective punishment against the people and their living conditions,” Rodriguez said. “What drives this individual from the world’s greatest power is a crime.”
United States policy toward Cuba doesn’t come from concern for the Cuban people. If the core mission were truly centered on humanity, the U.S. would ensure people didn’t suffer. However, the Cuban people that the U.S. claims to care about and actively starves are the reason the Revolution was successful in the first place. They are the reason it still exists today. For that, they are all on the U.S.’s enemies list. Unless, of course, they leave the island, become mouthpieces against Cuba while taking advantage of benefits only available to Cuban immigrants in the U.S. (eligibility for a green card after one year).
While many of those same immigrants are now being targeted by Trump’s immigration policies, many hardliners still support his policies, largely dismissing their constituents’ concerns over family members being deported and families being torn apart. Concerns of family members being referred to as “the worst of the worst” by Trump’s Department of Homeland Security for misdemeanor offenses, if anything, are also ignored by their hardline representatives in both chambers of Congress.
Unfortunately, the targeting of Cubans both in the United States and in Cuba wouldn’t be possible without those same Cuban Americans, with power, who are motivated by their own personal interests, greed, and their desire to control the population in Cuba.
Arturo is an independent freelance journalist. He has written hundreds of articles on policing, immigration, race, and Latin America. His work has been featured in outlets such as Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, The Wire, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Institutions like the courts, state department bureaucracy, and healthcare are designed by USA colonialism to bully and loot countries like Cuba and Venezuela as the Lancet study on sanctions shows recently.