Cuba Rejects New Us Sanctions Against High-Ranking Officials

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez today rejected the recent U.S. sanctions against high-ranking officials of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Interior Ministry.

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According to the Foreign Minister, the U.S. government lacks moral authority for these penalties, announced the day before. "I reject persistent U.S. eagerness to attack Cuba and Cubans, and to reinforce the economic blockade," he added in a message posted on his Twitter account.

The Treasury Department announced on Thursday the inclusion in its list of restrictions to Roberto Legra, second chief of the General Staff and head of the Directorate of Operations of the FAR; Andres Laureano Gonzalez, chief of the Central Army; and Abelardo Jimenez, head of the Directorate of Penitentiary Establishments.

The Cuban officers were included in the list of the so-called Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), under the Global Magnitsky Act.

As justification, the Treasury Department pointed to alleged human rights violations during July 11 "peaceful demonstrations", although videos disseminated on social networks showed acts of vandalism and deliberate attacks against law enforcement officers and state property.

This is the fourth occasion in which Joe Biden's administration has issued such provisions after the riots, denounced by the Cuban government as part of the plans for internal destabilization on the island.

Cuban authorities consider these restrictions irrelevant from a practical point of view, since they would imply the freezing of assets and the prohibition to travel to the United States.