U.S. sanctions 11 Cuban officials and 3 government entities
The United States has imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials and three government entities as part of a broader campaign against Cuba’s government, accusing them of supporting repression and posing threats to U.S. national security.
The sanctions were announced Monday by the State Department under an executive order signed by President Trump on May 1, which authorizes sanctions against people and entities linked to repression in Cuba and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
“For more than 60 years, the Cuban regime has prioritized its Communist ideology and personal wealth over the well-being of its own citizens while allowing for the exploitation of Cuba for foreign intelligence, military, and terror operations,” the State Department said.
The three entities sanctioned are Cuba’s Ministry of Interior, known as MININT, the National Revolutionary Police, and the Directorate of Intelligence. MININT oversees Cuba’s internal security, including police, intelligence agencies, internal security forces and the prison system.
The State Department said the National Revolutionary Police, which operates under MININT, has been accused of running mobile prisons and violently suppressing protests. The Directorate of Intelligence is Cuba’s main intelligence agency.
The sanctions also target senior Cuban officials tied to the country’s security apparatus, military, justice system, communications, energy sector and Communist Party leadership.
Those sanctioned include Eddy Manuel Sierra Arias, chief of the National Revolutionary Police; Oscar Alejandro Callejas Valcarce, chief of MININT’s Political Directorate and former director of the police force; Rosabel Gamon Verde, Cuba’s minister of justice; and Joaquín Quintas Solá, deputy minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The list also includes Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of Cuba’s National Assembly; Vicente de la O Levy, minister of energy and mines; Mayra Arevich Marín, minister of communications; José Miguel Gómez del Vallín, chief of staff of military counterintelligence; Raúl Villar Kessell, chief of Cuba’s Central Army; Roberto Tomás Morales Ojeda, a senior Communist Party official; and Eugenio Armando Rabilero Aguilera, chief of the Eastern Army.
The sanctions block any property or interests in property held by the designated people and entities in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons. U.S. persons are generally barred from doing business with them unless authorized by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The State Department said foreign people and companies that engage in transactions with those sanctioned, or operate in certain sectors of Cuba’s economy, including energy, defense, metals and mining, financial services or security, may also face sanctions risk.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
