From Mariel to Panama: The Professional Path of Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera's Daughter, Head of GAESA

The daughter of the current head of the military conglomerate GAESA, Brigadier General Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, is now residing in Panama where she has cultivated a career in the port and logistics sectors. Her professional journey began at one of Cuba's most strategic economic hubs: the Mariel Container Terminal (TC Mariel).

Any Rodríguez Lastres, a graduate of the University of Havana, started her career in 2014 as a commercial specialist at TC Mariel, according to her professional profile. During this period, she was involved in crafting commercial budgets, managing cargo containerization processes, attracting volumes, and handling billing, as reported by Martí Noticias.

She later advanced to roles in Commercial Strategy and Market Research, focusing on studies and analyses aimed at supporting high-level decisions within the port infrastructure.

The Mariel Terminal is a significant component within Cuba's state-controlled operations; it represents the regime's foremost logistics and industrial project over recent decades, closely tied to military-controlled structures.

GAESA (Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.) is a conglomerate under the control of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) that dominates critical sectors of the Cuban economy, such as tourism, foreign currency trade, port logistics, and a substantial portion of hard currency income.

Analyses have highlighted that the group concentrates a significant share of the foreign currency entering the country amid an economic crisis that leaves the population grappling with blackouts, food shortages, and declining basic services.

After her tenure at Mariel, Rodríguez Lastres moved to Panama, where she has been employed by international companies engaged in the port and logistics sector. Records indicate she has traveled to numerous international destinations, including Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Singapore.

Her career path has reignited discussions about the privileges enjoyed by elites connected to Cuba's power structure, contrasting with the official narrative of collective sacrifice and resilience. While the regime urges the populace to endure hardships in the name of "defending the Revolution," relatives of top officials pursue careers abroad and maintain ties with international business circuits.

"Here you can see the privileges of this new caste," stated Luis Domínguez, a researcher with the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, to Martí Noticias. "How many Cubans have the right and ability to travel the world like the daughter of a government official?"

Rodríguez Lastres's career takes on greater significance due to her family name. Her mother, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, assumed a central role within GAESA following the 2022 death of General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, considered the architect of the military business empire and former son-in-law of Raúl Castro.

Since then, GAESA's structure remains a cornerstone of Cuba's real economic power. The conglomerate manages companies linked to tourism, freely convertible currency stores (MLC), finance, import-export operations, and strategic logistics, including key infrastructures like Mariel itself.

Domínguez emphasized that information about individuals linked to GAESA is accessible. "Just Google the name, and you'll find companies, records, connections. We're talking about where the money stolen from the Cuban people is hidden," he asserted.

Available data also lists Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera as the owner of a company with several apartments registered in her name in Panama, adding another dimension to the debate over the accumulation of assets abroad by figures tied to Cuba's economic-military power.

"Once they spoke of a caste. Well, here it is again. The names have changed, but it's still the same structure of privileges," concluded Domínguez.

In a country where the average salary barely covers a fraction of the basic basket and where thousands of young people emigrate due to lack of opportunities, stories like this fuel questions about the concentration of power and resources in the hands of an elite closely linked to GAESA, the true financial heart of the totalitarian regime.