The United States has imposed a new round of sanctions targeting Cuban officials and state-owned companies, including entities in the mining, metal, and construction sectors. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures, which also name the Ministry of Construction and officials associated with a Cuban-based international institute.
Rubio stated that the targeted individuals were involved in "ferrying a new brigade of international sympathizers to Havana to network with regime officials," coinciding with the 100th birthday of former leader Fidel Castro. He further accused the sanctioned figures of being "part of the regime's raison d'être of exporting Marxism, racial resentment, and Communist violence across the world." The designations, according to Rubio, aim to prevent the Cuban regime from funding repression and continuing "subversive anti-American activities."
Among those sanctioned are leaders of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), an organization founded in 1960 that the Cuban government uses to foster international ties. Rubio accused ICAP of "misleading and corrupting American citizens with lies, spy tradecraft and malfeasance." The institute's president, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, identified as a member of the "Cuban 5" spy ring, was specifically named in the sanctions.
Cuba has condemned the new sanctions. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused Rubio of attempting to "punish" Cuban companies and further "harm" the nation's economy. He argued that these measures would hinder the government's ability to provide basic services, which are already strained by existing U.S. sanctions, including an effective oil blockade.
The sanctions come as Cuba grapples with an energy crisis, exacerbated by an effective oil blockade imposed by the U.S. this year. The island's aging electricity infrastructure's reliance on fuel imports has led to frequent power outages, forcing hospitals to rely on emergency generators and triggering rare public protests.