The United States has expanded punitive measures against Cuba in another effort by the Trump administration to increase pressure on the communist regime in Havana. The announcement was made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who unveiled sanctions against Cuban individuals and entities.
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Among the main targets of the new package is the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). According to Rubio, the institution’s leaders exploit educational exchange programs to “identify, recruit and radicalize subversive elements.”
“The Trump administration will not stand idly by while a hostile foreign power seeks to exploit our freedoms by deceiving and corrupting American citizens through lies, espionage techniques and other unlawful actions,” Rubio said.
The U.S. secretary linked this activity to the Cuban regime’s efforts to spread “Marxism, racial discontent and communist violence” in various countries around the world.
Washington had also imposed sanctions on ICAP in June. The latest round includes the organization’s president, Fernando Gonzalez Llort; its first vice president, Noemi Ramona Rabaza Fernandez; and its director for North America, Leima Martinez Freire.
Rubio said that just days earlier, Cuban authorities had attempted to use the 100th anniversary of the birth of former communist leader Fidel Castro to reactivate this network. As part of this initiative, a new brigade of international supporters was escorted to Havana with the aim of establishing contacts with regime representatives.
The new sanctions also target four entities operating in the mining and metals industries, as they are owned by the Cuban state or have ties to the regime.
The list also includes three companies involved in import and export activities. These businesses operate in various sectors, including the trade of vehicles, industrial equipment, household appliances and construction materials.
The latest measures demonstrate the Trump administration’s mounting pressure on Cuban authorities and on sectors considered to be directly linked to the Havana regime.
