US Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Cuba, Targets Castro Kin and Oil Supply Firm
Washington sanctions Raúl Castro's grandson and Cuba's oil import firm, escalating pressure amid an energy crisis.
The United States has announced a new round of sanctions against Cuba, targeting a grandson of former President Raúl Castro and a key state-owned energy supplier. The measures, unveiled on Thursday, are the latest in a series of actions aimed at increasing economic pressure on the island nation.
Among those sanctioned is Fidel Ernesto Castro, along with the Oil Industry Supply Import Company, known as Abapet. This firm is responsible for importing specialized equipment and spare parts essential for maintaining Cuba's deteriorating power grid.
Sanctions expert Brett Erickson of Obsidian Risk Advisors said the goal is to push critical infrastructure offline and worsen the energy crisis. "The U.S. is trying to really tighten the screws as much as possible," he said, adding that the administration appears unwilling to accept change in Cuba short of regime change.
Erickson predicted the Cuban government would seek creative ways to procure maintenance parts, though at a higher cost that could fuel inflation. He described the policy as an attempt to create a humanitarian crisis by generating civilian hardship.
Cuba has experienced increasingly frequent islandwide blackouts, with daily outages now exceeding 24 hours. The situation has worsened since late January, when President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling oil to the island.
Talks between Washington and Havana earlier this year have stalled. The State Department's announcement came just hours after Cuban officials held a press conference detailing historic economic reforms approved in June. Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga blamed the U.S. for the island's difficulties, calling the blockade "a genocide."
Cuban Ambassador to Mexico Eugenio Martínez Enríquez condemned the sanctions on social media, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended them, saying those targeted are "part of the corrupt Castro financial and intelligence network." He asserted that ordinary Cubans suffer while elites enrich themselves through sanctions evasion.
For residents like 49-year-old Yaqueline Bernal, who has been without power since Sunday, the crisis is immediate. "If we don't have power, we don't have water," she said, expressing concern for her eight young grandchildren.