U.S. Targets Cuban Political and Military Leaders with New Sanctions

AP

U.S. and Cuba flags.

The U.S. government on Monday imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the country's communications minister and ‌several military leaders, and its main intelligence agency.

The designations are part of a broader campaign against Cuba that includes efforts to block most oil shipments from Venezuela, following the U.S. raid to seize its leader in January.

The administration has described Cuba's current communist-run government as corrupt and incompetent and is pushing for a regime change.

U.S. President Donald Trump has heaped pressure on the island, effectively imposing a blockade by threatening ⁠sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, igniting power outages and delivering blows to its economy.

"For more than 60 years, the Cuban regime has prioritized  its  Communist ideology and personal wealth over the well-being of its own citizens while allowing for the exploitation of Cuba for foreign intelligence, military, and terror operations," the State Department said in a statement. "The United States will continue to take action to counter the Cuban regime, those furthering its goals, and those abroad enabling the elites to profit while the Cuban people suffer."

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has also imposed sanctions on Cuba’s Directorate of Intelligence (DI), the country’s principal state intelligence agency.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Ministry of the Interior of Cuba and the Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR), a police force accused of operating mobile detention units and suppressing anti-government protests.

The measures follow an initial round of sanctions announced in early May.

On 1 May, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting broad powers to sanction entities operating in Cuba’s key economic sectors, while also authorising secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions conducting business with sanctioned parties.

The Trump administration is also expected to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raúl Castro on Wednesday, according to a U.S. Justice Department official cited last week.

The U.S. State Department said additional sanctions are likely to be introduced in the coming days and weeks.

Source: Reuters



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