The United States sanctioned three top Cuban officials on Thursday, the latest in a string of steps in reaction to the island’s recent protest crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that the sanctions targeted two top defense ministry officials for their roles in repressing rare rallies in the communist-ruled country, where hundreds were detained.
“We will continue to hold responsible those who help the Cuban regime to perpetrate human rights violations,” said Andrea M. Gacki, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“Today’s action exposes more culprits guilty for repressing the Cuban people’s aspirations for freedom and human rights.”
After previously sanctioning defense minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and the Cuban police, the new action targets the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces’ Roberto Legra Sotolongo and Andres Laureano Gonzalez Brito.
They also cover Abelardo Jimenez Gonzalez, the Interior Ministry’s prisons chief.
“Cuban security forces have detained over 800 individuals in reaction to the protests, with many being kept in ‘preventative prison,’ and the whereabouts of numerous persons remain unknown,” according to the statement.
Adding them on the Treasury’s sanctions blacklist freezes any property they own in the US and prevents them from accessing the US financial system.
President Joe Biden has warned Havana that additional measures are likely, and Washington has urged for the release of jailed demonstrators while also attempting to find methods to guarantee Cubans have access to the internet.
