WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on 鈥婥uban President Miguel D铆az-Canel, his wife and three other individuals, in the latest move by the Trump administration to that drew immediate condemnation from Havana.
Included in the sanctions are Alejandro Castro Esp铆n, the sole son of and Vilma Esp铆n. He served as an adviser to Cuba鈥檚 Defense and National Security Commission and was present when Ra煤l Castro greeted then-U.S. President Barack Obama in Havana during a historic March 2016 meeting. Castro Esp铆n’s son, Ra煤l Alejandro Castro Calis, also was listed.
The new penalties come as has been threatening military action in Cuba since ousting Venezuelan leader Nicol谩s Maduro in January and then ordering an that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to , food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
The threats took on additional weight after the U.S. announced last month. Thursday’s penalties, which follow Trump signing an executive order expanding sanctions against the island, freeze individuals鈥� property and bank accounts in the U.S. But it鈥檚 unclear how intertwined their finances are with the U.S. financial system.
It鈥檚 鈥減retty unlikely鈥� Cuba鈥檚 president and others have assets in the U.S., said Richard Feinberg, former U.S. national security adviser on Latin America and professor emeritus of international political economy at the University of California, San Diego.
He said the sanctions 鈥渃ould be seen as preliminary to an intervention or increasing pressure on the regime to cut a deal,鈥� adding that the rhetoric of Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio 鈥渃ould take you in either direction.鈥�
D铆az-Canel accused Trump of making 鈥渘ew threatening statements against Cuba鈥� and said 鈥渢hese measures are aimed at reinforcing the blockade and escalating the conflict between Cuba and the United States.鈥�
鈥淭his political blindness adds to the coercive measures applied in recent weeks against our country, designed to harm the Cuban people,鈥� he wrote on X. 鈥淭he aggression and perversion of the U.S. government will clash with our resolve to confront the worst-case scenarios and resist the imperial onslaught.鈥�
Trump says about Cuba, ‘We鈥檙e going to handle that’
Asked Thursday if his sanctions were meant to , Trump said, 鈥淲e just want them to be a nicely run country.鈥�
鈥淭he country is starving and it鈥檚 got no energy, it鈥檚 got no oil, it鈥檚 got no money, it鈥檚 got nothing. It鈥檚 got a beautiful piece of land. You could have beautiful resorts,鈥� Trump told reporters at an unrelated event in the Oval Office.
Asked whether Cuba is close to collapsing, he said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of collapsed鈥� and added that 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to handle that as soon as we鈥檝e finished鈥� .
鈥淚 like to do one thing at a time,鈥� Trump said.
Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging to conduct a 鈥渇riendly takeover鈥� of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has long taken a hardline against Cuba鈥檚 socialist leadership, has said Trump鈥檚 preference is to reach a deal but has said he is doubtful the U.S. can find a diplomatic resolution with the current government.
Those 鈥渄esignated today direct or fund the regime and its efforts to mobilize its radical revolutionary movements in the United States and around the world,鈥� Rubio said in a statement.
Rubio has defended the Trump administration鈥檚 decision to slap escalating sanctions on Havana, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administraci贸n Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Cuba’s top diplomat condemns new sanctions as 鈥榗reating a scenario of conflict鈥�
In addition to Diaz-Canel, Bruno Rodr铆guez, Cuba鈥檚 minister of foreign affairs, said 鈥渢he vile inclusion鈥� of D铆az-Canel and others, including Cuban institutions and civil society organizations, 鈥渋s the latest example of the U.S. interventionist plan to portray Cuba as a threat to U.S. national security.”
鈥淓very U.S. action aimed at creating a scenario of conflict between the two countries is destined to fail,鈥� he wrote on X. 鈥淓very threat against Cuba鈥檚 independence and sovereignty will be met with even greater unity and determination from our people.鈥�
The new sanctions, which freeze any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions or any that come into U.S. jurisdictions, also apply to non-American entities that might do business with them.
In addition to the individuals, the sanctions also target Cuba’s defense ministry; its Institute for the Friendship with the Peoples, which promotes people-to-people talks; Amistur Cuba, an arm of the institute that oversees specialized tourism on the island; and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
Cuba’s president, Castro relatives and others are on the list
D铆az-Canel was handpicked in 2018 to succeed Ra煤l Castro and was the first person in decades to lead Cuba without bearing the name Castro.
Under him, the island plunged into the worst economic and energy crisis in recent history, a situation worsened by heightened sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
D铆az-Canel’s wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, also appeared on the sanctions list. She does not hold the title of first lady, a title abolished during the revolution, but in practice she acts as such, receiving other spouses such as Queen Letizia of Spain and accompanying her husband on official trips.
Her son Miguel Anido Cuesta, who is D铆az-Canel’s stepson, also faces sanctions.
The new action boosts pressure on the Cuban government but is far from the first time the U.S. has imposed sanctions against heads of state or government and their relatives.
The U.S. hit former Sudanese President Omar Bashir and former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in the early 2000s and, more recently, targeted Maduro and his wife with sanctions.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. AP writer Andrea Rodr铆guez in Havana contributed to this report. Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
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