US arrests sister of top Cuban official over alleged communist ties

(SeaPRwire) –   The U.S. has taken into custody the sister of GAESA’s executive president—GAESA being a large, military-operated business conglomerate in Cuba—over her purported connections to the communist regime.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an X post on Thursday that GAESA has been accused of diverting millions in aid intended for Cuban citizens “on the regime’s orders.”

Per Rubio, Adys Lastres Morera was placed in ICE custody following the State Department’s revocation of her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status.

Officials noted that Morera, who resided in Florida and managed real estate assets there, is said to have assisted Havana’s communist administration.

Rubio exercised his discretion to terminate her status. As reported by Reuters, Morera became a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. in 2023.

“Today, Adys Lastres Morera, a Cuban national with ties to the communist regime in Havana, was arrested following the Department of State’s termination of her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, at my direction,” Rubio said.

Morera is the elder sister of Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, who was hit with sanctions earlier this month for serving as GAESA’s executive president.

Officials have characterized GAESA as an exploitative communist organization that drains resources from the Cuban people.

“While the Cuban people suffer from the collapse of Cuba’s non-functioning communist economy, GAESA functions to allow a small circle of regime elites to plunder all the remaining resources of the island, squirreling away as much as $20 billion in illicit funds away in hidden overseas bank accounts,” Rubio said.

He further noted that Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, in her role as a senior executive, oversees international assets that are said to fund the “lavish lifestyles” of Castro-era elites and back initiatives related to expanding ideological influence overseas.

Rubio also highlighted the deteriorating situation in Cuba—such as widespread power outages and acute shortages of food, fuel, and medicine—claiming that GAESA is diverting resources from basic needs within the communist system.

“GAESA’s ill-gotten riches are not spent on repairing the collapsing power grid, stocking empty pharmacies, feeding hungry families, or providing for the most basic and essential needs of the Cuban people. Instead, they are used to enrich Havana’s elites and underwrite their ongoing campaign of espionage, subversion, and revolutionary militancy against the free peoples of this hemisphere,” he said.