Here is our Sociedad Media Now daily newsletter focusing on Nuevo Miami, the news and stories impacting Latin America & and the city of Miami.
Cuba’s Military Holds $18 Billion in Liquid Assets While Its People Endure Blackouts and Hunger
MIAMI — A Miami Herald investigation, based on leaked internal financial documents, found that Cuba’s military-run conglomerate GAESA held roughly $18 billion in liquid assets as of March 2024 — a sum exceeding the combined international reserves of Costa Rica, Panama, and Uruguay.
Just three of its subsidiaries, including hotel operator Gaviota, accounted for over $13 billion of that total, even as GAESA publishes no financial statements and answers to no oversight from Cuba’s National Assembly or its own Comptroller’s Office.
The findings land as ordinary Cubans continue enduring near-constant blackouts and food shortages, and have become a recurring reference point for U.S. officials pressing Havana over why that wealth isn't being used to address the island’s collapsing infrastructure.
Dominican Republic Expels Nine Cuban Diplomats In Caribbean Shakeup
D.R. — The Dominican Republic ordered nine Cuban diplomats and their families — roughly 21 people total — to leave the country by August 16, citing only the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and offering no public explanation.
The move is a notable escalation from President Luis Abinader, who told Infobae in May that Cuba “obviously is not a democratic state,” and closely mirrors Ecuador’s own March expulsion of Cuba’s entire diplomatic mission, adding to a broader wave of regional isolation for Havana this year, alongside Colombia’s pending rupture and mounting U.S. sanctions pressure.
Miami’s Condo Crisis Has a Delayed Detonation Date, and It’s Hitting Owners & Buyers Right Now
MIAMI — Post-Surfside safety laws are hitting Miami’s condo market with full force — special assessments up to $100,000+ per unit, over 1,400 buildings frozen out of conventional financing, and 20-40% value declines in older towers.
New construction avoids the reserve catch-up entirely, creating a real split in who can actually afford to buy in Miami.
