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Rubio sanctions Cuba network
The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on five Cuban entities and eight individuals accused of helping Cuba secure weapons and maintain relationships with foreign militaries, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the designations under President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14404.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday that the US has imposed sanctions on five Cuban entities and eight individuals”
Rubio said the Cuban Communist regime is a state sponsor of terrorism that “spies on America, arms violent left-wing radicals, spreads poisonous Marxist ideology, and serves as a staging ground for Russia, China and Iran just 90 miles from our shores,” linking the measures to threats he described as operating “on our doorstep.”
The State Department action targeted the network involved in procuring military equipment for Cuba’s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and security forces, and it also blocked property and interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction for those designated.
CiberCuba reported that the State Department sanctioned Álvaro Victoriano López Miera, identifying him as Cuba’s Minister of the FAR and saying it marked his third designation by the United States in five years.
The Hill reported that Rubio’s Thursday move targeted five Cuban entities and eight individuals with ties to Havana’s military procurement as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to rearrange the country’s communist government system.
Who was named, and why
CiberCuba said the State Department also designated Roberto Legrá Sotolongo as Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of MINFAR, and it described him as involved in the acquisition of weapon systems from Russia.
The Associated Press story in ABC News said Rubio accused the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, or ICAP, of sponsoring “a vast subversive network in the United States aimed at identifying, cultivating, and radicalizing” Americans.
Daily Signal, citing Reuters, said the individuals designated include Alvaro Lopez Miera, Chief of the General Staff Roberto Legra Sotolongo, and Cuba’s military attachés to Russia and China, among others.
South China Morning Post reported that the U.S. sanctioned Waldo Perez Cortes, Cuba’s military, naval and air attache in Beijing, and said the State Department described him as “involved in the procurement of military-related equipment from China to Cuba”.
El Periodista said the measures adopted by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC also included Mónica Milián, military attaché in Moscow, and Waldo Pérez, military attaché in Beijing, alongside Tecnoimport, Duna, the Union of Industrias Militares, Tecnotex, the Yuri Gagarin company, and other entities tied to Cuba’s military-industrial sector.
Pressure campaign and next moves
Beyond the military-procurement designations, Al Jazeera reported that the United States announced another round of economic sanctions targeting nine state-owned mining, metal and construction companies, including Cuba’s Ministry of Construction, and it said the measures were tied to Rubio’s statement.
“These sanctions must be lifted immediately.”
Al Jazeera quoted Rubio accusing the targeted companies of helping to “sustain the regime’s repressive apparatus by exercising control over key economic sectors,” and it said additional sanctions targeted three leaders at ICAP.
The Hill described the broader pressure context, saying the Trump administration is hopeful that economic pressure bolstered by an eight-month oil blockade will encourage a leadership change on the island.
In a Monday speech before Parliament, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, “The path is difficult, the situation is complex, but the will to triumph is unshakable,” as the U.S. warned resistance could result in a situation parallel to Venezuela.
Al Jazeera also reported that UN officials have warned such conditions could trigger a humanitarian crisis, and it cited a statement from UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk saying, “These sanctions must be lifted immediately.”
