The U.S. has expanded sanctions against Cuba and added Raúl Castro’s grandson to the sanctions list
The U.S. has expanded sanctions against Cuba, adding one of former President Raúl Castro’s grandsons to a new list. Washington is thus stepping up pressure on the island’s communist government.
Among the organizations listed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in its updated guidelines on Thursday are Comercial Cupet SA, which sells fuel and lubricants; Banco Exterior de Cuba, founded in 1999; ABAPET, which sells equipment wholesale; and CEXNI and NICAROTEC, which operate in the mining sector.
Also added to the sanctions list is 31-year-old Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis—the son of Alejandro Castro Espina, a high-ranking official in Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior, against whom sanctions were imposed in June.
Another grandson of Raúl Castro—Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who has garnered attention as a potential mediator in the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Havana—was not included on the sanctions list.
“These steps reflect President Trump’s unwavering vision for a free Cuba—a country where the regime’s illicit financial networks, repressive apparatus, and entrenched power structures of the Castro era will be dismantled, and where the nation’s future will belong to the Cuban people, not their oppressors,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
One sanctions expert called the inclusion of ABAPET on the list particularly significant, as the company is involved in procuring the resources needed to operate Cuba’s outdated power plants. The island needs about 100,000 barrels of oil per day to meet domestic demand, but produces only about two-fifths of that amount itself.
Washington imposes new sanctions almost every week in an effort to topple the government in Havana, which has ruled the island for nearly 70 years. Since the Trump administration expanded sanctions against Cuba in May, punitive measures have been imposed on at least 86 individuals and organizations.
Following the change of power in Venezuela—Cuba’s main ally—in early January and the cessation of oil shipments from that country, the Trump administration has effectively imposed a fuel blockade on the island. During this time, only one Russian tanker has delivered oil to Cuba.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
As a reminder, Cuba is purchasing drones in preparation for a war against the U.S. — Axios.
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