The United States government announced new sanctions against senior officials and agencies of the Cuban regime, under Executive Order 14404, signed on May 1, which authorizes measures against individuals and entities linked to repression in Cuba and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
According to the State Department, the sanctions target 11 members of the Cuban political and military elite, as well as three state agencies related to security, intelligence, and internal repression.
Washington maintained that all the sanctioned targets are linked to the Cuban state’s control apparatus.
Among the sanctioned entities are the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT), identified as the body in charge of internal security, intelligence and the prison system; the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), accused of repressing protests and operating “mobile prisons”; and the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), the main espionage agency of the Cuban government.
US authorities indicated that the new measures expand upon previous designations made under the Global Magnitsky Act.
The list of sanctioned officials includes Eddy Manuel Sierra Arias, head of the General Directorate of the PNR; Oscar Alejandro Callejas Valcarce, head of the Political Directorate of the MININT and former director of the PNR; Rosabel Gamón Verde, Minister of Justice; Joaquín Quintas Solá, Vice Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces; and Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP).
Also sanctioned were Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines; Mayra Arevich Marín, Minister of Communications; José Miguel Gómez del Vallín, head of Military Counterintelligence; Raúl Villar Kessell, head of the Central Army; Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party; and Eugenio Rabilero Aguilera, head of the Eastern Army.
The State Department explained that, as a result of these measures, all property and interests of the sanctioned individuals and entities located in the United States or under the control of U.S. citizens or companies are blocked. In addition, any entity in which the sanctioned individuals or entities hold, directly or indirectly, at least a 50% interest will also be automatically blocked.
Washington also warned that transactions by U.S. citizens with sanctioned officials and agencies are prohibited, except with express authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department.
The US administration also warned foreign companies and financial institutions about the risk of being exposed to secondary sanctions if they maintain operations with persons or entities designated under Executive Order 14404, especially in sectors considered strategic for the Cuban government, such as energy, defense, mining, financial services and security.
“For more than 60 years, the Cuban regime has put its communist ideology and personal enrichment before the well-being of its own citizens, while allowing Cuba to be exploited for foreign intelligence, military, and terrorist operations. The United States will continue to take action against the Cuban regime, those who promote its objectives, and those abroad who allow elites to enrich themselves while the Cuban people suffer,” they added.
Days ago, the OFAC of the United States Treasury Department included Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, Brigadier General and current executive president of GAESA (Grupo de Administración Empresarial SA), the military conglomerate that controls a large part of the Cuban economy, including strategic sectors such as tourism, finance, retail and real estate companies, on the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list.
The list also included the mining company Moa Nickel SA (MNSA), a key player in nickel and cobalt mining in Cuba. @ADNCuba
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