Cuba slams new US sanctions against state-run firms

Havana, June 24 (IANS) Cuba denounced the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on five Cuban state-owned entities and a member of the extended family of former Cuban President Raul Castro, arguing the measures aim to further harm the economy.

“The U.S. government, led by its dishonest and mendacious Secretary of State (Marco Rubio), continues to take steps to tighten the noose around Cuba’s economy,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on X, referring to the sanctions Washington announced earlier in the day.

These sanctions came as Cuba “has proven to be stronger, more capable, and more effective than he expected in the face of the ruthless aggression and collective punishment against the people and their living conditions,” said Rodriguez, adding that “what this individual is pushing for from the world’s greatest power is a crime.”

The sanctions target five Cuban state-owned entities, three of which are linked to the conglomerate Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. and two are related to the mining and metallurgical sectors, according to a fact sheet published Tuesday by the US Department of State, XInhua news agency reported.

The Trump administration expanded sanctions against Cuba, targeting five entities tied to key sectors of the island’s economy and a member of the Castro family as part of what Washington described as a broader effort to choke off revenue flowing to the Cuban government.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures, saying the sanctions were aimed at entities and individuals that “fund, facilitate, or benefit from the regime’s malign activities, both in Cuba and across our hemisphere.”

The sanctions target three entities linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), the military-run conglomerate that Washington describes as the financial backbone of the Cuban government.

“GAESA continues to operate as the financial muscle behind the Cuban regime’s repressive security apparatus,” Rubio said.

The State Department said two of the sanctioned entities are financial institutions involved in moving money on behalf of the Cuban government, while another is a logistics company that supports operations across the island.

–IANS

int/rs