The United States government has imposed new sanctions on Cuba, aiming to intensify economic pressure on the island nation and worsen its existing crises. The measures target entities and individuals involved in critical sectors, including the oil industry and spare parts importation necessary for Cuba's power grid.
Among those sanctioned are Fidel Ernesto Castro, grandson of former President Raúl Castro, and Cuba’s Oil Industry Supply Import Company (Abapet). Abapet plays a crucial role in importing essential equipment and spare parts for Cuba's power grid, which has been experiencing widespread and prolonged blackouts. Sanctions expert Brett Erickson stated that the U.S. is attempting to "tighten the screws as much as possible" and push critical machinery offline.
These sanctions come as Cuba grapples with increasingly frequent islandwide blackouts, with daily outages now exceeding 24 hours. The aging power grid and dwindling fuel reserves have been exacerbated by previous U.S. actions, including threats of tariffs on countries providing oil to the island. Erickson suggested the U.S. goal is to create sufficient hardship to prompt regime change, an approach he described as an attempt to cause a humanitarian crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that those sanctioned are part of a "corrupt Castro financial and intelligence network," alleging that Cuban elites enrich themselves while ordinary citizens suffer. He reiterated a commitment to a free Cuba.
Cuban officials have strongly condemned the sanctions. Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, Cuba’s deputy prime minister, blamed the U.S. government and described the economic blockade as "genocide." Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez decried the sanctions as "collective punishment" and "collective punishment is a crime," adding that they inflict suffering on the population through measures calculated to trigger a humanitarian crisis. Cuba's ambassador in Mexico, Eugenio Martínez Enríquez, called Rubio "a liar without scruples."
Erickson anticipates that Cuba will attempt to circumvent the sanctions, a process he noted will be more costly and likely increase inflation. The U.S. has a history of sanctioning Cuban state-owned companies, including its oil and gas firm, in an effort to push them into a "death spiral."
Talks between the U.S. and Cuba have ceased in recent months, coinciding with an increase in U.S. sanctions. The announcement of the latest measures followed a Cuban press conference detailing recent economic reforms approved in June.