US sanctions nine Cuban state entities and ICAP officials as Havana widens private sector rules

New sanctions targeting state entities and ICAP leadership

On 20 August 2026, the United States expanded its economic sanctions against Cuba, designating nine state entities and three individuals. The economic penalties named the Ministry of Construction as well as eight state-owned companies operating in mining, metallurgy, motor vehicles, commercial trade, and labor contracting. The designations also focused on the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), an organization founded in 1960 by Fidel Castro to foster ties with international activist groups. Among the three sanctioned officials is ICAP president Fernando González Llort, a former member of the Cuban 5 spy ring who was released during a prisoner exchange under the Obama administration.

Accusations of ideological subversion

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the first Latino head of US diplomacy, stated that the targeted organizations sustain and finance the Cuban government's repressive apparatus by maintaining control over key sectors. Rubio accused ICAP of managing a network in the United States designed to identify, cultivate, and radicalize individuals under the cover of educational and cultural exchanges. US officials also claimed that Havana sought to use the 100th birthday of the late Fidel Castro to bring international sympathizers to Cuba to coordinate directly with government figures, accusing the Cuban administration of exporting Marxism and racial resentment.

Today's designations make clear that the Trump Administration will not tolerate the Cuban regime's efforts to fund its repression or continue its decades-long campaign of subversive anti-American activities.

Escalating pressure and humanitarian impact

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the designations on X, stating that Washington continues to penalize Cuban enterprises to impair the island's economy and prevent the government from providing basic public services to its 9.4 million residents. The sanctions follow an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May targeting Cuban government officials and security apparatus personnel, following July actions directed at state trading and tourism entities. Washington has also maintained sanctions on GAESA, the military conglomerate established by Raúl Castro in 1995. Earlier in August, the CIA established a secret task force aimed at utilizing covert methods to depose the Cuban Communist Party. In addition, an effective US oil blockade in place since January 2026 has deepened severe fuel shortages, blackouts, and disruptions in hospitals across the island, supplementing the broader US embargo operating since 1962.

Energy, transport, irrigation and basic services are failing simultaneously, disproportionately affecting women, children, older persons and other vulnerable groups, including peasant farmers in the rural economy.

Economic reforms approved in Havana

Alongside the new US penalties, the Cuban government under President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced measures to expand private enterprise. The Council of State approved three new decrees that join a wider group of approximately 176 economic reforms designed to transform Cuba's business environment. The legislation alters existing decree-laws covering micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, non-agricultural cooperatives, and self-employed workers. Under these rules, private companies will be authorized to manage hotels, operate passenger vehicle rentals for personal and tourist use, and provide private passenger transport services.