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US targets more Cuban entities, including Construction Ministry, in new sanctions wave
🇯🇲 Jamaica /Energy & Infrastructure

US targets more Cuban entities, including Construction Ministry, in new sanctions wave

From Jamaica Observer · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • The US announced new sanctions targeting Cuban entities, including the Ministry of Construction and state-owned enterprises in the metals and mining sector.
  • The sanctions also target three leaders of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), including its president who previously served prison time in the US for espionage.
  • The US stated the sanctions aim to cripple the Cuban government and stop its alleged subversive anti-American activities, while Cuba's foreign minister criticized the move as an attempt to harm its economy and public services.

The United States intensified its pressure campaign against Cuba on Thursday, announcing a new round of sanctions aimed at crippling the communist government. The measures target the Ministry of Construction and several state-owned enterprises involved in the metals and mining sectors, which the US claims "sustain the regime’s repressive apparatus."

Today’s designations make clear that the Trump Administration will not tolerate the Cuban regime’s efforts to fund its repression or continue its decades-long campaign of subversive anti-American activities.

— Marco RubioUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio explaining the purpose of the new sanctions.

In addition to economic entities, the sanctions also hit three top leaders of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). The State Department highlighted ICAP's president, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, who was previously convicted in the US for espionage and served 15 years in prison. According to the State Department, Llort "continued his efforts to destabilize the United States" after returning to Cuba through his ICAP involvement.

Rubio, continues to punish Cuban companies with the deliberate aim of harming our economy and preventing the government of Cuba from guaranteeing basic services to the population.

— Bruno RodriguezCuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez responding to the sanctions on X.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Trump administration "will not tolerate the Cuban regime’s efforts to fund its repression or continue its decades-long campaign of subversive anti-American activities." He accused Cuba of sponsoring a "vast subversive network in the United States" under the guise of educational exchanges and noted a recent attempt to use Fidel Castro's 100th birthday to invigorate this network.

sustain the regime’s repressive apparatus through control of key economic sectors

— State DepartmentDescribing the targeted state-owned enterprises.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced the sanctions on X, asserting that Rubio "continues to punish Cuban companies with the deliberate aim of harming our economy and preventing the government of Cuba from guaranteeing basic services to the population." This latest action follows a broader US strategy to isolate Cuba, which has already included an oil blockade and sanctions on the military-controlled conglomerate GAESA, exacerbating difficult living conditions on the island.

continued his efforts to destabilize the United States following his return to Cuba through his involvement with ICAP

— State DepartmentDescribing the actions of ICAP president Fernando Gonzalez Llort.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jamaica Observer in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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