U.S. Expands Sanctions Against Cuban Officials
Washington announced new sanctions against Cuban officials and institutions while Havana denounced growing economic pressure and threats of aggression.
The United States imposed new sanctions on Cuban officials and institutions as bilateral tensions with Cubacontinue to intensify. Photo: AP
May 19, 2026 Hour: 1:00 am
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Washington targets senior Cuban officials and institutions amid escalating tensions with Havana
The United States imposed new unilateral sanctions Monday on 11 senior Cuban officials and three state institutions, deepening pressure on Havana as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.
RELATED: Cuba Has the Legitimate Right to Defend Itself From a Military Attack: Diaz-Canel
The measures were announced by the U.S. Department of State and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which said the sanctions are intended to address alleged threats to U.S. national security and hold Cuban state-linked actors accountable.
The sanctions freeze all assets and property under U.S. jurisdiction belonging to the designated individuals and entities, while also prohibiting financial and commercial transactions involving them.
The institutions targeted include Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior (MININT), the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), and the General Intelligence Directorate (DGI), which now joins the National Intelligence Directorate on the OFAC sanctions list.
Text Reads: 📌 The U.S. imposed new sanctions against 11 Cuban officials and three institutions. The State Department and OFAC justified the decision as a strategy to counter alleged threats to national security.🔴 These actions are part of a policy of coercive measures that Washington has maintained against Cuba for more than six decades, directly affecting its economy and population. The sanctions involve the blocking of assets and property under U.S. jurisdiction.
Those sanctioned include senior civilian, military and Communist Party officials. Among them are Cuban Parliament President Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández; Communist Party Political Bureau member Roberto Morales Ojeda; Justice Minister Rosabel Gamón Verde; Communications Minister Mayra Arevich Marín; and Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy.
The measures also affect Deputy Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Joaquín Quintas Sola; National Revolutionary Police chief Eddy Manuel Sierra Arias; Interior Ministry official and PNR director Óscar Alejandro Callejas Valcarce; military counterintelligence chief José Miguel Gómez del Vallín; Central Army chief Raúl Villar Kessel; and Eastern Army chief Eugenio Armando Rabilero Aguilera.
Growing tensions between Washington and Havana
The new sanctions come amid a period of heightened tensions marked by what Cuban authorities describe as an intensified U.S. economic, commercial, financial and energy blockade, along with repeated statements by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding taking control of the island.
The measures coincided with statements by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, who said on social media that, “without any legitimate excuse, the U.S. government is building, day after day, a fraudulent case to justify the ruthless economic war against the Cuban people and eventual military aggression.”
Text Reads: Without any legitimate excuse whatsoever, the #US government builds, day after day, a fraudulent case to justify the ruthless economic war against the Cuban people and the eventual military aggression. Specific media outlets play along, promoting slanders and leaking insinuations from the U.S. government itself. #Cuba neither threatens nor desires war. It defends peace and prepares itself to confront external aggression in the exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense recognized by the UN Charter.
The escalation also follows a recent visit to Havana by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who met with senior Cuban officials last week amid renewed U.S. accusations concerning alleged security threats linked to Cuba.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded Monday to reports in U.S. media portraying Havana as a military threat to the United States, stating that Cuba has the “absolute and legitimate right” to defend itself.
Text Reads: The threats of military aggression against #Cuba from the world’s greatest power are well-known. The threat itself already constitutes an international crime. If it were to materialize, it would trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences, plus the destructive impact on regional peace and stability.
Author: MK
Source: Agencies
