Trump Administration Adds Orbit, “a Remittance Processing Company Operating for or on Behalf of the Cuban Military” to the list

EFE/14ymedio, Washington/Havana/ 1 February 2025 — The new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, approved this Friday the reinstatement of the Restricted List of Cuba, a “black list” that bans certain transactions with companies under the control of or acting on behalf of the Cuban military, intelligence or security services personnel.
Rubio stated that he is reinstating that list “to deny resources to the same branches of the Cuban regime that directly oppress and monitor the Cuban people while controlling large sectors of the country’s economy.”
Rubio stressed that, in addition to putting back the companies that were already on that list until the last week of the Biden Administration, he is adding Orbit, “a remittance processing company that operates for or on behalf of the Cuban military.”
“The State Department holds the Cuban regime responsible for oppressing its people and rejects Cuba’s evil interference in the Americas and around the world,” he said.
“The State Department holds the Cuban regime responsible for oppressing its people and rejects the evil interference of Cuba in the Americas and around the world.”
Republican congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, of Cuban origin, said on X that with the reinstatement and expansion of the list, Rubio fulfills “his promise to support the freedom of the Cuban people, denying resources to its oppressors while promoting the national security of the United States.”
Rubio’s message also expressed Washington’s support for “human rights and fundamental freedoms for the Cuban people” and demanded “the release of all unjustly detained political prisoners.”
“Our embassy in Havana is meeting with relatives of those unjustly detained, as well as dissidents, so that they know the United States supports them unconditionally. We are firm in our commitment to the Cuban people, and we hold the Cuban regime responsible for its actions,” he said.
Rubio recalled that on January 20, in the first hours of Donald Trump’s second term, the President revoked the decision of his predecessor to remove Cuba from the US list of countries promoting terrorism.
Rubio’s message also expressed Washington’s support for “human rights and fundamental freedoms for the Cuban people
“The Cuban regime has long supported acts of international terrorism. We demand that it end its support for terrorism and stop providing food, housing and medical care to murderers, bomb makers and foreign kidnappers, while Cubans go hungry and lack access to basic medicines,” Rubio said.
The Trump Administration added that it is also committed to US citizens “having the ability to take private action related to their properties that were confiscated and trafficked by the Cuban regime.”
The Office for Latin America of the State Department in turn welcomed the revocation of the last-minute, ill-advised policies of the previous administration in regard to Cuba.
In 2022, the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) licensed the non-bank financial institution Orbit S.A. to manage remittances on the Island. The company, established in Havana in February 2020, was authorized to process international transfers from abroad and to provide payment services from abroad through its infrastructure, for duly authorized goods and services, according to current legislation.
“The Cuban regime has long supported acts of international terrorism”
Orbit manages remittances from the United States through entities such as Western Union, VaCuba or Cubamax and is backed by Financiera Cimex (Fincimex), belonging to Cuba’s powerful military conglomerate Gaesa (Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.). In an extensive report published last December, The Miami Herald confirmed Gaesa’s ties with the Cuban military.
Orbit’s data, the newspaper points out, appear alongside those of Fincimex on remittances in the reports prepared by the latter for its meetings with the executive president of Gaesa, Ania Lastres Moreras.
According to the Herald, Orbit has been managed by Fincimex executives since its creation. Currently, its president is Diana Rosa Rodríguez Pérez, appointed this year by the president of Gaesa; she previously served as vice president of Cimex.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.