Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, accused the United States of strengthening the blockade against the island after the Treasury Department added Cuban leaders, family members, and entities to a new sanctions list.
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“The U.S. president makes new threatening statements against Cuba; and the Treasury Department added new names of Cuban leaders, organizations, and companies to an illegitimate sanctions list,” the president wrote on his X account.
According to Díaz-Canel, the measures “are aimed at strengthening the blockade measures and the conflict scenario between Cuba and the United States.” He also stated that these actions are in addition to other “coercive measures” applied in recent weeks which, in his opinion, seek to “harm the Cuban people.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) included Díaz-Canel himself, members of his family, and various Cuban entities in its Specially Designated Nationals List. Among them are the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, and the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples.
This mechanism allows blocking assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits transactions with companies, banks, or citizens of that country. In practice, the sanctions can also affect foreign companies that maintain commercial ties with the individuals or institutions included in the list.
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Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, also questioned the decision and maintained that it is a sample of the United States’ “interventionist plan” to present Cuba as a threat to its national security.
The new round of sanctions comes amid increased tensions between Washington and Havana. In recent weeks, the Donald Trump administration has hardened its rhetoric against Cuba and applied new economic restrictions, including measures linked to oil trade with the island.
Díaz-Canel closed his response with a call to resist U.S. pressure. “The aggressiveness and perversion of the Yankee government will clash with our decision to face the worst scenarios and resist the imperial onslaught,” he affirmed.
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