US sanctions Cuban president Díaz-Canel, his family, and military leadership in latest escalation

The new designations

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday placed Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on its sanctions list, freezing any assets he may hold under U.S. jurisdiction and barring American citizens and companies from doing business with him. The action also targeted his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, and his stepson, Manuel Anido Cuesta. Alejandro Castro Espín, the only son of former president Raúl Castro, and his son Raúl Alejandro Castro Calis were added to the list as well. Five Cuban entities were sanctioned simultaneously: the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the travel agency Amistur Cuba SA, the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, and the mining company La Victoria.

For nearly seven decades, the Cuban communist regime has waged a continuous campaign of political, ideological, and institutional warfare against the United States.

Justification from Washington

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting under an executive order signed by Trump on May 1, said Havana has served as a forward operating base for irregular warfare against U.S. interests, recruiting, training, and equipping violent leftist militants across the hemisphere. Rubio provided no evidence for the claims. The State Department framed the sanctions as a response to a regime that, in Rubio's words, holds the Cuban people hostage and exports radical-left violence and terror throughout the hemisphere.

Havana's response

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez called the sanctions vile and said they are the latest proof of a U.S. interventionist plan to portray Cuba as a threat to American national security. Rodríguez insisted that every action by Washington aimed at building a scenario of conflict between the two countries is destined to fail. President Díaz-Canel himself struck a defiant tone, saying,

Gentlemen imperialists: we are absolutely not afraid of you.

Trump's comments

Speaking to reporters at an unrelated Oval Office event, President Donald Trump said the U.S. wants Cuba to be a nicely run country. He described the island as sort of collapsed, citing starvation, a lack of energy, no oil, and no money. Trump praised Cuba's beautiful land and suggested it could host beautiful resorts. Asked whether the sanctions were meant to accelerate Cuba's collapse, he replied that the U.S. would handle Cuba as soon as military operations in Iran are finished, adding,

I like to do one thing at a time.

Broader pressure campaign

The sanctions are the latest in a series of escalating measures since the start of the year. Washington has imposed a de facto oil blockade that has severely restricted fuel shipments to the island, contributing to widespread blackouts, critical food shortages, and a deepening economic crisis. In May, the U.S. sanctioned 11 Cuban officials, including the communications minister and several military leaders. Last month, the Justice Department indicted Raúl Castro on murder charges related to a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by Cuban exiles. Trump has repeatedly threatened a friendly takeover of Cuba and called the island an extraordinary threat to U.S. national security.

Diplomatic channels

Despite the hostile rhetoric, both governments say they are maintaining diplomatic contacts. Alejandro Castro Espín, now sanctioned, was a key figure in the secret negotiations that led to the 2015 restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States. The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets and prohibit American firms and citizens from transacting with the designated individuals and entities, though it is unclear how intertwined their finances are with the U.S. financial system.