United States sanctions Cuban President Díaz-Canel, his wife and two Castro relatives, extending pressure campaign on Havana

New round of sanctions

The U.S. Treasury placed Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on its sanctions list, alongside his wife Lis Cuesta Peraza, his stepson Manuel Anido Cuesta, and Raúl Castro’s son Alejandro Castro Espín and grandson Raúl Alejandro Castro. Five entities were also targeted, including the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. The measures freeze any assets the individuals or entities hold under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit American citizens and companies from doing business with them.

We want Cuba to be a nicely run country.

Context of escalation

Tensions between Washington and Havana have deepened sharply this year. The Trump administration has imposed a de facto oil blockade, issued sanctions against 11 other Cuban officials and an intelligence agency last month, and indicted former president Raúl Castro for his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two planes flown by Cuban exiles. A White House executive order dated May 1 threatened to freeze U.S. assets of any foreign company with business ties to Cuba, especially those linked to the military conglomerate Gaesa, which controls an estimated 40% of the island’s economy.

Impact and diplomatic backdrop

The sanctions come despite ongoing diplomatic contacts between the two governments. Alejandro Castro Espín, now blacklisted, was a key figure in the secret negotiations that restored U.S.–Cuba diplomatic relations in 2015. Meanwhile, several international hotel groups — Spain’s Meliá and Iberostar, Canada’s Blue Diamond, and Indonesia’s Archipelago — have already withdrawn their brands from roughly half of their Cuban properties under U.S. pressure.

Gentlemen imperialists, we are absolutely not afraid of you.

Timeline of recent U.S. actions against Cuba