President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has responded to the latest United States sanctions imposed on him and others, vowing to resist pressure by the Trump administration.
He said the “threats” and the Treasury Department’s designation of Cuban leaders, organizations, and companies are aimed at “reinforcing the blockade and the conflict” between Cuba and the U.S.
“This political blindness adds to the coercive measures applied in recent weeks against our country, designed to harm the Cuban people,” the President wrote on X.
Bermúdez declared that the “aggression and perversion” of the American government will clash with Cuba’s “determination to face the worst-case scenarios and resist the imperial onslaught.”
In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said for nearly seven decades, the regime in Cuba has waged a campaign of political, ideological, and institutional warfare against the U.S.
The Secretary announced the designation of five Cuban entities and five individuals “who sustain the regime’s malicious campaign to subvert and destabilize U.S. national security.”
They include President Bermúdez, Castro family member Alejandro Castro Espín, their associates, and “the military cartel” blamed for diverting Cuba’s economic power to elites and overseas bank accounts.
In addition to the designated Grupo de Administración Empresarial (GAESA), a holding company for the military, Washington has also sanctioned the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR).
MINFAR’s majority holdings and subsidiaries, many of which are identified on the Department of State’s Cuba Restricted List, are considered blocked, according to Rubio.
The Secretary said anyone dealing with entities owned 50 percent or more by GAESA, MINFAR, or the previously designated Ministry of the Interior risks exposure to potential U.S. penalties.
Rubio further confirmed the designation of a Cuban government gold mining joint venture accused of enriching the Caribbean nation’s military and upper crust “at the expense of its people.”
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