GAESA
Cuban military business conglomerate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) is a Cuban business megaconglomerate,[1] owned and operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.[2] Among Cuba's "most powerful institutions", it is estimated to control between 40-70% of the Cuban economy,[3] with revenues three times the state budget.[2][4] GAESA consists of dozens of businesses, dealing in everything from hotels and tourism to construction, port logistics, fishing and commercial imports, financial services and retail stores.[2] Contrasting reports describe it as a financial juggernaut[2] protected from sharing its resources with the impoverished Cuban society by its political clout,[5] or as much less financially successful,[6] being "on the verge of bankruptcy".[7]
GAESA was founded by Raul Castro to give the Cuban military a financial foundation during the Special Period,[8][2] and was run by the Cuban general Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja until his death in 2022.[9] GAESA functions as "state within the state", as the conglomerate does not allow the Cuban government to audit its accounts and the profits are hoarded by the Cuban ruling elite.[3]
Characteristics, holdings, numbers, etc.
While GAESA does not reveal its financial records, a leak of information from its 2023 and 2024 financial statements was published by El Nuevo Herald in 2025 and provided information. Affiliates include:
- Gaviota (Grupo de Turismo Gaviota S.A.), controls much of Cuba's tourism;
- CIMEX - retail trade
- TRD Caribe - wholesale trade,
- RAFIN S.A. and the Banco Financiero Internacional (BFI), control much of the Cuban financial system.[4][5]
GAESA manages remittance businesses, logistics, and storage. This includes the Port of Mariel. It is involved in construction, transportation, and foreign trade. Because it effectively administers the country's main foreign-currency flows, it is "the most influential economic actor" in Cuba.[4]
Profits, sales, reverses statistics
Gross profits on GAESA's sales come to approximately 37% of Cuba's GDP, so in excess of one-third of the country's total added value is generated within the military conglomerate. The conglomerate exported goods and services equivalent to about 34% of the island's total exports in the time studied. GAESA has exclusive control over Cuba's hotel industry, from which it has historically acquired billions of US and Canadian dollars in income.[10] It also owns Cuba's largest bank.[11]
Disagreement
The value of its total assets is disputed by experts. According to The Miami Herald, GAESA, acting as a proxy for the Cuban military, has around $18 billion in assets as of August 2025.[5] Another source (The Economist magazine) describes the group as on the verge of bankruptcy as of March 2026.[7] Emily Morris, an economist at the University College London Institute of the Americas, disagreed with the report by the Miami Herald. According to Morris, Cuba's accounting system converts U.S. dollars to Cuban pesos in their accounting documents; this means that the $17.9 billion that was reported would translate to $746 million in U.S. dollars.[6][12]
