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The Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, responded this Thursday to the new sanctions imposed by Washington with a statement on X in which he affirmed that U.S. intelligence agencies have "ample evidence" that Cuba poses no threat to that country.
"Whoever truly directs the intelligence and national security agencies of the U.S. has ample evidence that Cuba does not pose a threat to that country, even if the deceitful arguments put forth by high officials of that government were credible," wrote Cossío.
The statement came hours after the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against the military conglomerate GAESA (Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.), its CEO, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, and the mining company Moa Nickel S.A., a joint venture with the Canadian Sherritt International Corp., which suspended its operations in Cuba on the same day.
GAESA, controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces, manages more than 18 billion dollars in assets and accounts for between 40% and 70% of the Cuban formal economy, according to the State Department.
The measures are based on the Executive Order 14404 signed by Trump on May 1, titled "Imposition of Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and Threats to the National Security of the U.S.," which expands the national emergency declared in January 2026.
Washington's main argument for justifying the pressure is that Cuba hosts intelligence facilities from China and Russia just a few kilometers from U.S. territory.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed it unequivocally last Tuesday on Fox News: "We will not allow adversaries of the United States to operate intelligence or military bases 90 miles from us."
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has identified at least 12 Chinese signal intelligence facilities on the island, with documented expansions in 2025.
Cossío systematically rejects that narrative and accuses the U.S. of using pretexts to conceal what he calls a policy of domination.
On May 5, he stated that Trump's executive order "clears all doubt about the objectives of domination" that, in his view, drive U.S. pressure.
In March, the same official stated on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Cuban army "is always prepared and, in fact, is currently preparing for the possibility of a military aggression".
While the regime deploys its defensive rhetoric, the Cuban population suffers the consequences of the energy crisis: since January, a fuel boycott has cut between 80% and 90% of the island's oil imports, causing blackouts of up to 25 hours a day.
Rubio warned this Thursday that the pressure is not over: "Additional designations can be expected in the coming days and weeks", he stated while announcing the sanctions, as part of a campaign that has accumulated more than 240 restrictive measures against the regime since January 2025.
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