U.S. Expands Pressure on Cuba...Sanctions High-Ranking Officials and Intelligence Agencies

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has increased its pressure on Cuba by adding Cuban intelligence agencies and key cabinet ministers to its sanctions list.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 18th (local time), the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated nine high-ranking officials—including Justice Minister Rosabel Gamon Verde, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy, Communications Minister Mayra Arevich Marin, and National Assembly President Juan Esteban Lazo—as well as organizations such as the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), as targets of sanctions.

When designated as a sanctions target, assets held in the United States are frozen and cannot be withdrawn or disposed of. All transactions with the U.S. and U.S. companies are strictly prohibited, effectively expelling the sanctioned parties from the international financial network that uses the dollar.

On the 13th (local time), blackout protests occurred in Havana, Cuba. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said, "For over 60 years, the Cuban regime has prioritized communist ideology and personal wealth over the well-being of its people, and has allowed Cuba to be used for foreign intelligence, military, and terrorist operations." It continued, "The United States will continue to take action against the Cuban regime, those who advance its objectives, and those abroad who support the elite in profiting while the Cuban people suffer."

Since the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, the United States has intensified its offensive against Cuba. The strategy involves focusing military resources on the front with Iran, while leveraging economic and political means to pressure Cuba, aiming to induce regime change. In January, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning foreign financial institutions and foreign companies that conduct transactions with key Cuban state-owned enterprises such as GAESA.

According to officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Trump administration is planning to criminally indict Raul Castro, the behind-the-scenes power in Cuba, on the 20th. Raul Castro, who led the Cuban revolution alongside his brother Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, is currently regarded as the de facto leader of Cuba.

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