Cuba: US imposes sanctions on government officials

Enlarge image

Protesters in Havana

Photo: Yander Zamora / imago images / Agencia EFE

The US government has imposed new sanctions on Cuba.

The incumbent minister of the armed forces and the department of the Cuban interior ministry are affected, the White House said.

This would have driven the crackdown on the protests.

Most recently, thousands of Cubans took to the streets spontaneously in numerous cities for freedom, against oppression and an economy of scarcity.

There had been no such protests in the Caribbean country for decades.

The authorities of the Caribbean state cracked down on the demonstrators, according to activists.

More than a hundred people were arrested.

A 36-year-old man died in a demonstration on the outskirts of Havana.

Cuba's economy is suffering heavily from the slump in tourism in the pandemic as well as from US sanctions.

There is a lack of food and medicines (read an analysis here).

"The Cuban people have the same right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as all people," said a statement from US President Joe Biden.

The United States is on the side of the "brave Cubans."

"This is just the beginning - the United States will continue to punish those responsible for the oppression of the Cuban people."

The sanctions are based on an ordinance that targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuses and corruption around the world and include, for example, property freezes.

The US government reiterated that it is still examining whether restrictions on sending money to the island are possible under certain conditions.

Plans to increase the workforce at the US embassy in Havana would also continue to be considered.

This is currently only minimally occupied.

Dozens of diplomats and their relatives living in the Cuban capital Havana had complained of puzzling headaches, hearing loss, dizziness and nausea from 2016 onwards.

The embassy staff was then reduced to a minimum.

The Cuban government called the sanctions "unfounded and defamatory".

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wrote on Twitter that the US should rather deal with repression and police violence in its own country.

as / AFP / dpa