US Imposes Sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel

SadaNews - The United States imposed sanctions late Thursday to Friday on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and some individuals and entities linked to him, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's website.

The sanctions included 4 other individuals and 5 entities, including the "Cuban Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces."

So far, the Cuban government has not responded to a request for comment on the sanctions.

Díaz-Canel, who is 66 years old, has been the President of Cuba since 2018, when he took power following Raúl Castro, the brother of former President Fidel Castro.

The sanctions were announced at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States wants Cuba to become a "well-run country."

For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the sanctions in a social media post as "shameful" and considered them the latest example of U.S. interventionist policy. He stated, "Any U.S. action aimed at creating a scenario of conflict between the two countries is doomed to fail."

It is noteworthy that this move is the latest in a series of measures taken by Washington to intensify pressure on the communist leadership on the island, according to Reuters.

Last month, Washington imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the Minister of Communications and several military leaders and the main intelligence agency.

Meanwhile, Washington has also accused Raúl Castro of murder, allegedly for his involvement in an incident in 1996 involving the shooting down of Cuban planes that were operating by a group of Cubans abroad.