U.N. experts cite fuel shortages and blackouts in sanctions criticism
The restrictions include Revolutionary Armed Forces Minister Álvaro López Miera and Chief of the General Staff Roberto Legrá Sotolongo. The State Department also targeted Cuban military attachés stationed in Moscow and Beijing, who are accused of facilitating the transfer of defense technology and hardware.
The measures cover state-owned Tecnoimport and Tecnotex, which import technical supplies for Cuba’s defense sector. Both companies are part of the commercial infrastructure of GAESA, the military-controlled conglomerate.
The restrictions freeze property and financial interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities when those assets fall under U.S. jurisdiction. They also prohibit financial transactions with the designated parties.
Rubio said the sanctioned officials and entities facilitated the purchase, import, maintenance and modernization of military equipment, primarily from Russia and China. In a post on X, he wrote that “the Cuban communist regime is a state sponsor of terrorism that spies on the United States, arms violent leftist radicals, spreads poisonous Marxist ideology and serves as a base of operations for Russia, China and Iran just 90 miles from our shores.”
Rubio added that “as President Trump has said, the United States will not tolerate a rogue state harboring hostile military, intelligence and terrorist operations at our doorstep.”
The action relies on Executive Order 14404, which the Trump administration issued in May. The order introduced secondary sanctions allowing the United States to penalize and freeze the assets of foreign companies, banks or individuals that provide material, technological or financial support to the Cuban government.
The order focuses on strategic sectors including defense, energy and financial services. The mechanism is intended to further isolate Cuba from the international dollar-based banking system.
OFAC said in FAQ 1264 that humanitarian activities and transactions, including providing food and medical supplies to Cuba, are not targeted by the executive order. The agency also said the United States is working to implement a $100 million humanitarian aid program for Cubans through independent organizations authorized by the U.S. government.
U.N. human rights experts condemned the measures and described them as an attempt to alter the constitutional order of a sovereign state through threats and coercion. They urged the international community to prevent what they called a “silent Gaza” on the island, repeating a warning previously raised by four members of the U.S. Congress after visiting Cuba.
The experts said U.S. sanctions expanded since June and reached the energy sector on July 23. They said the measures have complicated Cuba’s ability to obtain fuel amid severe shortages and nationwide blackouts, affecting transportation, irrigation and basic services.
“The humanitarian consequences are already turning into a full-blown crisis threatening the rights to health, life, food and development,” the experts said. They also cited warnings from U.N. agencies about growing risks of food insecurity and shortages of medicine and essential goods.
The experts challenged a State Department report published July 20 that described Cuba as a multifaceted threat to U.S. national security and hemispheric stability. They said the report did not provide concrete evidence that Cuba supports terrorism or subversive activities.
“The U.S. government must cease all threats and hostile acts against Cuba’s sovereignty and revoke all measures it has imposed on the country that are contrary to international law,” the experts said.