US imposes new Cuba sanctions targeting Chinese military suppliers

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced new sanctions against Cuba, with Chinese suppliers working with the Cuban military among those added to the blacklist.

In a statement, Rubio said: “Cuba’s ruling elites are monopolizing the island’s energy, maritime shipping, and tech resources for their own enrichment, while everyday Cubans are left to deal with power outages, shortages, and a stagnant economy.”

Arguing that the “Marxist regime” in Havana relies on a network of state-owned enterprises, joint ventures, and offshore intermediaries to sustain the system, the US secretary of state said: “The regime’s foreign enablers provide military equipment that sustains the regime’s military forces and enables brutal repression, while also backing its persistent efforts to threaten, infiltrate, and subvert the US homeland.”

Rubio announced that the new sanctions are being implemented pursuant to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14404, entitled “Imposing Sanctions on Persons Responsible for Repression in Cuba and Threats to US National Security and Foreign Policy.”

The new sanctions designate ten targets, including additional “Cuban elites”, a crude oil shipping network, state-owned import and technical support entities, and China-based suppliers servicing Cuba’s military forces.

In addition, Rubio identified five associated vessels as “blocked property”.

Rubio continued:

“Today’s targets include GUILLERMO FAUSTINO RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ CALLEJA, who is part of an extensive offshore network of maritime shipping companies that moves Cuban crude oil shipments to and from the island. I am also sanctioning ANY RODRIGUEZ LASTRES, the daughter of previously sanctioned Grupo de Administración Empresarial (GAESA) President Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.”

Additionally, the US Department of the Treasury issued a determination under Executive Order 14404 authorizing the imposition of economic sanctions against any foreign person determined to operate, or to have operated, in the electronics, manufacturing, maritime, and technology sectors of the Cuban economy.

According to Rubio, while the Cuban leadership “channels the island’s resources to its military elite”, while “regime insiders and family members benefit from opaque offshore networks”, and while “Cuba continues to serve as a base for a global coalition of hostile, anti-American actors to convene, threaten, spy, and conspire against the US and its interests”, the Trump Administration will not stand by.