US sanctions Cuban president, ‘regime-controlled’ luxury hotels

State Department caput Rubio said helium had sanctioned respective elder officials and their ‘cronies’ for their ‘brutality toward the Cuban people’.

The US State Department has imposed sanctions connected elder Cuban officials, including President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced arsenic helium marked the 4th day of a brutal crackdown connected historical antigovernment protests.

In a station connected X, Rubio said the State Department would beryllium “restricting visas for Cuban authorities figureheads”, including President Diaz-Canel, Defence Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera, Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, and their “cronies” for their “role successful the Cuban regime’s brutality toward the Cuban people”.

Rubio, the lad of Cuban immigrants, besides announced that the State Department has added the Torre K edifice to its restricted database of entities successful bid to “prevent US dollars from backing the Cuban regime’s repression”.

The Cuban authorities has promoted the luxury high-rise Torre K successful cardinal Havana arsenic a awesome of modernisation. But the authorities has faced disapproval for its ample concern successful luxury hotels amid a terrible economical situation successful the nominally socialist one-party state.

“While the Cuban radical endure shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the authorities lavishes wealth connected its insiders,” Rubio said.

Ten different “regime-linked properties” were besides added to the State Department’s List of Prohibited Accommodations, it said successful a statement.

The connection said the sanctions were being enacted successful “solidarity with the Cuban radical and the island’s governmental prisoners”, citing the Cuban government’s brutal crackdown connected the July 2021 demonstrations – the largest since the Cuban gyration successful the 1950s.

The constabulary crackdown resulted successful 1 decease and dozens of wounded protesters.

“Four years ago, thousands of Cubans peacefully took to the streets to request a aboriginal escaped from tyranny. The Cuban authorities responded with unit and repression, unjustly detaining thousands, including implicit 700 who are inactive imprisoned and subjected to torture oregon abuse,” the State Department said.

Rubio besides accused Cuba of torturing pro-democracy activistic Jose Daniel Ferrer, whose bail was revoked arsenic helium was taken into custody alongside chap dissident Felix Navarro successful April.

“The United States demands contiguous impervious of beingness and the merchandise of each governmental prisoners,” Rubio said.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the latest measures arsenic portion of a “ruthless economical war” being waged by the medication of US President Donald Trump.

“The USA is susceptible of imposing migratory sanctions against revolutionary leaders and maintaining a prolonged and ruthless economical warfare against Cuba, but it lacks the quality to interruption the volition of these radical oregon their leaders,” helium said connected X.

In January, then-US President Joe Biden had removed Cuba from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism.

But Trump returned the state to the blacklist instantly aft returning to the White House arsenic helium resumed his “maximum pressure” campaign against Cuba that typified his overseas argumentation during his archetypal term.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies