The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and some affiliated people and entities, the U.S. Treasury Department’s website showed.
– The sanctions also targeted four other people and five entities, including Diaz-Canel’s wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, two members of the Castro family, and the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
– The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions.
– Diaz-Canel, 66, has served as president of the Caribbean country since taking over from Raul Castro, the brother of Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro, in 2018.
– Thursday’s action against Diaz-Canel is the latest by Washington to intensify pressure on the island’s communist leaders.
– The sanctions were announced as President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. wanted Cuba “to be a nicely run country.”
– Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the sanctions “despicable” in a post on social media, describing them as the latest example of U.S. interventionism.
– “Every U.S. action aimed at creating a scenario of conflict between the two countries is doomed to failure,” Rodriguez said.
– Last month, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the country’s communications minister, several military leaders and its main intelligence agency.
– The U.S. also charged Raul Castro with murder for his alleged involvement in a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.