Fact-Checking Marco Rubio (and the Herald) — Again
To justify the most recent sanctions, Rubio repeated his claim that the military-run Cuban company GAESA is “stealing” billions of dollars from the Cuban people. He also said that "not a cent" of the money generated from GAESA benefits the Cuban people.
Rubio does not substantiate these claims, which seem to be based in part on the Miami Herald's reports that GAESA is "hoarding" $18 billion. The Herald's reporting is based on fuzzy math and what appears to be an egregious error in interpreting the one “secret” document upon which its entire investigation seems to hinge. See our analysis of the Herald's reporting HERE.
Herald journalist Nora Gámez Torres is frequently cited by Rubio and other hardliner politicians, who use factoids from her reporting to push for ever-harsher sanctions on Cuba. In turn, she regularly cites them...citing her.
The echo chamber has continued in the wake of the new executive order, as Gámez Torres took credit for the claims made by Rubio to justify Trump's executive order.
Rubio's false claims this week were not limited to GAESA.
He also said that "there’s no oil blockade on Cuba per se," a statement so detached from reality that it borders on absurd. The Trump administration has spent months aggressively pressuring countries, including an executive order threatening tariffs on any country that exported oil to Cuba.