U.S. imposes new sanctions on Cuba; Fidel Ernesto Castro and Abapet listed
Washington added the grandson of Raul Castro and a key oil-equipment importer to its sanctions list, citing threats to U.S. security and Cuba's fragile power system.
The United States on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions targeting individuals and companies tied to Cuba, a move Washington says is aimed at intensifying pressure on the island's fragile economy and deepening its existing crises.
Among those designated is Fidel Ernesto Castro, the grandson of former Cuban president Raul Castro, as well as the Cuban importer known as Abapet (Abapet). The company is responsible for bringing in specialized equipment and spare parts needed to keep Cuba's aging power grid running.
Administration: hit the regime’s networks and security apparatus
"The sanctions are intended to put critical infrastructure equipment in Cuba out of service and to worsen the country's energy crisis," said Brett Erikson, a sanctions expert and managing director at Obsidian Risk Advisors.
Erikson added a broader political reading of the measure: "It appears the Trump administration has no serious intention to accept any change in Cuba except the overthrow of the regime. Marco will not allow that to happen," referring to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a written statement posted on the State Department's official website, Rubio said "the communist Cuban regime continues to pose a serious and multilayered threat to U.S. national security." The statement also framed the sanctions as reflecting President Trump's vision for a free Cuba: "These sanctions reflect President Trump's unwavering vision for a free Cuba — a Cuba in which the regime's illicit financial networks, the repressive apparatus and entrenched power structures from the Castro era will be broken, and in which the nation's future will belong to the Cuban people, not their oppressors," the statement said.
The measures were imposed under Executive Order 14404, which authorizes broad sanctions related to Cuba, including against people who support the regime's security forces, those responsible for repression inside Cuba, and others deemed threats to U.S. national security.
Photo: press material from the event
