US targets Cuba mining sector in move with implications for China-linked supply chains
The Trump administration expanded its sanctions campaign against Cuba on Tuesday, targeting a state-owned mining company and other key economic entities in a move that comes as Washington seeks to build alternative supply chains for critical minerals and reduce reliance on geopolitical rivals.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against five entities and one individual, including state-owned mining company GeoMinera, which oversees foreign-backed mining ventures and manages Cuba’s non-nickel metallic mineral assets. The measures also targeted financial and logistics companies linked to military-run conglomerate Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA (GAESA).
“GAESA continues to operate as the financial muscle behind the Cuban regime’s repressive security apparatus,” Rubio said in a statement.
Cuba swiftly condemned the measures.
“The US government, led by its dishonest and mendacious Secretary of State, continues to tighten the noose around Cuba’s economy,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on social media.
The sanctions come days after Havana unveiled 176 economic reforms aimed at expanding private enterprise, attracting investment and reviving an economy battered by prolonged blackouts, shortages of food, fuel and medicine.