After President Trump cut off remittances through an entity owned by the Castro military, the communist regime set up a front company to take over the business, and continued making millions. That company, Orbit S.A., has not been exposed.
Mario Penton reports in Marti Noticias (my translation):
Cuban military company posed as a civilian entity to process U.S. remittances, report says
The Cuban government established a supposedly civilian company to process remittances from the United States after the Trump administration sanctioned Fincimex, a military-controlled company, in 2020. Fincimex had been handling remittance transactions.
The new company, Orbit S.A., was presented by the Cuban government as an independent civilian entity registered under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment. However, an investigation by the Miami Herald revealed that the company operates as an extension of Cimex, another key enterprise under GAESA, the powerful military conglomerate that controls much of Cuba’s economy.
The U.S. sanctions on Fincimex aim to prevent remittance funds sent by Cuban expatriates from benefiting the Cuban military, citing human rights violations and support for Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.
The U.S. Treasury Department authorized agreements between remittance companies like Western Union and Orbit on the condition that the Cuban company had no military ties. However, internal Cimex documents reviewed by the Herald showed that Cimex oversees Orbit’s operations, analyzes its performance, and prepares reports on money transfers conducted through Western Union and Miami-based agencies such as VaCuba and Cubamax.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Martí Noticias on Tuesday that the Biden administration is committed to “promoting the flow of remittances to the Cuban people without enriching Cuba’s military, intelligence, or security services.”
Orbit S.A. retains the same staff and operational structure as Fincimex, even sharing the same physical location in Miramar, Havana. Its current director, Diana Rosa Rodríguez Pérez, has a long history with Cimex and GAESA.
Remittances are a crucial source of dollar income for GAESA, which uses these funds for projects like building tourist hotels, while the Cuban population faces a severe crisis marked by shortages of food, medicine, and other essential goods.
Emilio Morales, director of the Florida-based think tank Cuba Siglo 21, which investigates Cuban military enterprises, stated that “the Biden administration was informed from the beginning about Orbit S.A.’s true intentions, and evidence was presented to the State Department showing that it was a cover to evade sanctions. However, they decided to proceed,” allowing remittances to flow, Morales told Martí Noticias.
He added that U.S. authorities might reevaluate current agreements and impose stricter sanctions to ensure that the flow of funds benefits the private sector and Cuban families rather than the military elite.
These revelations carry serious political implications, said Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart to the Herald.
South Florida Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar also weighed in, stating that she had warned the Biden administration about the situation.
“The Castro regime has once again been exposed for stealing the money that exiled Cubans send to their families on the island through another company linked to GAESA,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Because, of course, it was a foregone conclusion they’d pull this sort of scam. Anyone surprised is an idiot.