President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to expand U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government, aiming to increase pressure on Havana following the removal of Venezuela’s leader. The new sanctions target individuals, organizations, and associates supporting the Cuban government’s security apparatus, involved in corruption or serious human rights violations, and those aligned with the government. The exact targets of the sanctions are not immediately known, but the order specifies that they could apply to any foreign entity operating in sectors such as energy, defense, metals and mining, financial services, and the security industry in Cuba.
The order also allows for secondary sanctions on individuals or entities engaging in transactions with those affected by the order. Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, denounced the new measures, stating that they violate the United Nations Charter and are an attempt to impose collective punishment on the Cuban people. He emphasized that the U.S. lacks the authority to impose such measures and asserted that they will not be intimidated.
Jeremy Paner, a former sanctions investigator at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, described the move as the most significant action against non-American companies since the inception of the U.S. embargo on Cuba. He highlighted that companies operating in sectors like oil and gas, mining, and banking, which previously kept their Cuban operations separate from the U.S., are now vulnerable to the sanctions.
These latest sanctions represent another step taken by the Trump administration against Cuba, with the president suggesting that Cuba could be the next target following actions in Venezuela. Trump’s order includes an implicit caution to Cuba, accusing the government of aligning with Iran and groups like Hezbollah. The U.S. has demanded Cuba to open its state-run economy, address property expropriations, and conduct free and fair elections, which Cuba has rejected, maintaining its socialist government system.
Earlier this year, the U.S. halted oil exports from Venezuela to Cuba after the ousting of Maduro, leading to a fuel shortage in Cuba, causing widespread blackouts and flight suspensions by foreign airlines. The U.S. has intensified pressure on Cuba, threatening tariffs on countries supplying crude oil to the island, resulting in Mexico halting its shipments to Cuba.
These developments are part of the ongoing escalation between the U.S. and Cuba, with Trump’s administration taking a firm stance against the Cuban government and its alliances.
