US Sanctions Cuba’s President, Castro Family as Trump Escalates Island Pressure
The United States imposed new sanctions on Thursday targeting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, members of his immediate family, and relatives of former president Raul Castro, marking Washington’s latest move to intensify pressure on the communist-led island nation.
The measures hit Diaz-Canel’s wife and stepson, along with Castro’s son and grandson. Raul Castro no longer holds an official post, but he continues to wield significant influence over Cuban affairs. The sanctions also targeted Cuba‘s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and several other entities.
Escalating Pressure Under Trump
Although the US trade embargo against Cuba has been in place since 1962, President Donald Trump has sharply escalated his campaign against Havana in recent months. His administration cut off Cuba’s fuel supplies and has not ruled out more drastic action. These latest sanctions follow a US murder indictment against Raul Castro and earlier penalties targeting a military conglomerate that controls much of Cuba’s economy.
Trump suggested on Thursday that Cuba could be next in line after Venezuela and Iran. “We’ll take care of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and as soon as that’s done, on our way back, we’ll just make a little brief stop over,” he told reporters, in an apparent reference to the island. He nonetheless denied that the sanctions aim to accelerate Cuba’s collapse, saying he simply wants Cuba to be “a nicely run country that can feed its people.”
Havana Hits Back
Cuban officials responded defiantly. Writing on X, Diaz-Canel accused Trump of working to “strengthen the blockade and scenario of conflict between Cuba and the United States,” and vowed that Cuba would resist “the aggressiveness and perversity of the Yankee government” and “the imperialist onslaught.” Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described the sanctions as “vile” and said his country would meet them with “greater unity and determination from our people.”
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation on the island continues to worsen. The fuel embargo, in effect since January, has deprived Cuba of diesel for its power generators, causing outages of up to 22 hours a day and widespread water shortages. Transport has ground nearly to a halt, and the country faces growing shortages of food and medicine, leaving it dependent on aid from Mexico and China.
The UN representative on the island warned Thursday that the deepening humanitarian emergency, combined with the onset of the Caribbean hurricane season, amounts to an “explosive cocktail.” Eastern Cuba is still recovering from Hurricane Melissa, which caused widespread destruction in October last year.
