The Miami Herald has obtained a trove of secret financial data from Cuba’s largest conglomerate. Its name is GAESA, short for Grupo de Administración Empresarial, S.A., and the Cuban armed forces run it.
GAESA controls a big chunk of tourism, most of the island’s gas stations and supermarkets, the money transfer business, currency exchange agencies, the operations at the Mariel Special Development Zone, and many other profitable businesses. It is also under U.S. sanctions.
The Herald obtained over 20 financial statements from GAESA’s internal accounting system for March and August last year showing that one point it was holding as much as $18 billions in hard currency in its accounts. Some of the statements show data for the same months in 2023. The Herald also obtained a document with financial information from CIMEX’s, the largest holding company operating under the GAESA umbrella.
GAESA’s finances are treated as a military secret, and not even the government comptroller is authorized to audit them. The detailed financial information reported by the Herald has not been previously made publicly and was likely not shared with the Ministry of Economy and other government agencies. That’s how secret the military keeps its accounting records — until now.
Here are five takeaways from the Herald’s reporting.
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With $18 billion in dollar holdings in March last year, GAESA’s dollar-denominated current assets are larger than the foreign currency reserves of some mid-sized economies in Latin America. Most of that money, $14.5 billion, was kept in unidentified banks and GAESA’s own financial institutions, allowing it to be quickly converted into cash. The figure does not include CIMEXs dollar assets, which means the conglomerate’s total dollar reserves are likely much higher. GAESA also had additional billions of pesos in assets.
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The financial records provide definitive proof of GAESA’s significant share of the country’s economy. They also contradict the government’s narrative that the island’s spiraling poverty and scarcity result exclusively from the decades-old U.S. embargo.
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A leading Cuban economist conservatively estimated that GAESA’s gross profits in 2023 are equivalent to around 40% of Cuba’s official GDP figure reported that year.
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The financial records indicate that GAESA’s companies pay a very low tax rate and only in Cuban pesos. That rate is notably much lower than the heavy tax burden that limits the growth of the private sector on the island, and not nearly enough to cover the food rations and public services for the population. The conglomerate pays zero taxes on profits.
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At the same time, the financial documents reveal that the military was incurring substantial losses, contributing to the rapid decline of the island’s economy. Last year, $5 billion disappeared from GAESA’s accounts, likely due to declining tourism revenue, according to records.
You can read the full story here: Where is Cuba’s money? Secret records show the military has massive cash hoard
