Marco Rubio: "For decades, Cuba has been the global capital of radical left terrorism."

The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, appointed five Cuban entities this Thursday under the sanctioning authorities established by the Executive Order on Cuba signed by President Donald Trump, stating that the island has been for decades "the global capital of radical left terrorism."

In a message posted on his official account on X, Rubio stated that "the regime in Havana has recruited, trained, and supported violent Marxist and third-world movements throughout the hemisphere and beyond," and declared that today's action directly targets "the network that enables and funds the subversive and radical operations of Cuba."

The five designated entities are:

1. Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR)
2. Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)
3. Amistur Cuba S.A.
4. Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR)
5. Minera La Victoria S.A.

The MINFAR is the military structure under which GAESA operates, the business conglomerate of the regime that was already subject to sanctions on May 7.

ICAP, chaired by Fernando González Llort—former member of the so-called "Five Heroes"—is identified as the regime's diplomatic influence arm with allies such as Syria, Iran, and Russia.

The CDR, whose national coordinator since 2020 is Gerardo Hernández, also a former state agent, are identified as instruments of neighborhood surveillance and repression, particularly active following the protests of July 11, 2021.

Rubio warned that any person or entity providing services to the sanctioned actors is at risk of facing their own sanctions: "Foreign banks and other companies that serve these entities must freeze those activities."

The Trump administration made its message clear: "It will no longer tolerate radical Marxist regimes in our hemisphere that seek to threaten the national security of the U.S. and carry out influence operations to export their poisonous and wicked 'revolution' to our country and the world."

In addition to the cited organizations, the current leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, his wife Lis Cuesta Peraza, Alejandro Castro Espín —son of Raúl Castro— and the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) have also been added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals, in a new wave of sanctions against the core of power in Cuba.

This new round of sanctions is part of a sustained escalation of pressure that began on January 29, when Trump signed Executive Order 14380 declaring a national emergency regarding Cuba.

On May 1st, Trump signed Executive Order 14404, which expanded the sanctions framework to sectors such as energy, defense, metals, mining, and financial services, and even extended measures to adult relatives of designated individuals.

On May 19, Rubio had already announced sanctions against 11 elites of the regime and three governmental organizations. Last Tuesday, before the Senate, Rubio reiterated that Cuba needs "new people in charge".

Today's designations partly fulfill a long-standing request from the Cuban exile community: the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) formally asked in February 2023 for the U.S. to designate the ICAP and the CDR, among other mass organizations of the regime, as terrorists.

The announcement comes a day after several companies began to leave Cuba due to the pressure of U.S. sanctions, and one day before the deadline set for foreign companies to sever ties with GAESA under the threat of secondary sanctions.