WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has imposed sanctions on Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel, along with his wife and three other individuals, according to a filing on Thursday from the U.S. Treasury Department.
Also included in the sanctions are Alejandro Castro Espín, the sole son of former President Raúl Castro and Vilma Espín. He served as an advisor to Cuba’s Defense and National Security Commission and was present when Raúl Castro met with former U.S. President Barack Obama in Havana during a historic March 2016 meeting.
The sanctions come after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding sanctions against the island and has been threatening military action ever since ousting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island. It took on new weight after the U.S. announced criminal charges against the island’s former leader, Raúl Castro.
Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Trump’s preference is to reach a deal with the island’s socialist leadership, but has said he is doubtful the U.S. can reach a diplomatic resolution with the island’s current government.
Last month, Rubio defended the Trump administration’s decision to slap new sanctions on Havana, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The Associated Press reached out to Cuban authorities and did not receive a response.
The new sanctions boost pressure on the Cuban government, but are far from the first time the U.S. has imposed sanctions against heads of state or government and their relatives.
The U.S. hit former Sudanese President Omar Bashir and former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in the early 2000s and more recently targeted former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife with sanctions.
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Associated Press reporter Danica Coto contributed to this report. Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
