United States imposes new sanctions on Cuban militias and a dozen entities

The United States announced new sanctions targeting Cuban popular militias, rapid response brigades, and official or business entities on Monday, intensifying its economic pressure campaign against the communist island. The Trump administration has maintained an oil embargo against Cuba since January, exacerbating the nation's energy problems and its worst economic crisis in decades.

The State Department explained that Monday's sanctions are aimed at the "interconnected pillars" of the state and business apparatus. The sanctioned entities include the popular militias, which are subordinate to the Ministry of Armed Forces, the Rapid Response Brigades, the Association of Combatants of the Revolution, and the Antex corporation. Additionally, sanctions were placed on the Ministry of Tourism, business groups Gecomex, Caudal, and Gemar, as well as import-export firms Enetec and Coreydan.

These sanctioned entities will face asset freezes in the United States, and they are prohibited from engaging in commercial transactions with U.S. companies or individuals. They will also be denied access to any financial services. Several of these entities are linked to Gaesa, a military conglomerate that manages significant economic activity on the island. Gaesa itself was sanctioned on May 1 and has reportedly begun divesting assets to mitigate the economic pressure.

The Treasury Department clarified that the sanctions are not intended to harm non-U.S. persons involved in transactions ordinarily incidental and necessary for settling dealings with sanctioned entities like GECOMEX or GEMAR, provided they divest their assets. Senator Marco Rubio highlighted the fifth anniversary of citizen protests in Cuba on July 11, 2021, which led to thousands of arrests. He reiterated the U.S. commitment to using all available tools to counter threats from the Cuban regime and promote reforms for a better Cuban future.