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The Cuban foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, publicly defended the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel and his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, after they were included in the sanctions list of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, labeling the measure as "vile" and "illegitimate" in a message posted on his X account on Thursday.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the third round of sanctions under Executive Order 14404, signed by Donald Trump on May 1, 2026. In addition to Díaz-Canel and Lis Cuesta, the list included the president's stepson, former intelligence chief Alejandro Castro Espín, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR).
"The vile inclusion of President @DiazCanelB, along with his family, as well as institutions, civil society organizations, and Cuban companies in an illegitimate and unilateral list by the #US government, is the latest demonstration of the US interventionist plan to portray #Cuba as a threat to national security," wrote Rodríguez.
The chancellor, who has held the position since 2009 and has become the main diplomatic spokesperson for the regime in light of the escalation from Washington, warned that the actions of the U.S. will not achieve their intended goal.
"Every U.S. action aimed at creating a scenario of conflict between the two countries is destined to fail," he stated, promising that "every threat against the independence and sovereignty of Cuba will be met with greater unity and determination from our people."
It is not the first time that Rodríguez has stepped up to defend the regime's structures in the face of sanctions. Last Tuesday, he had already defended GAESA as a structure of "proven efficiency", and on Wednesday, the Communist Party of Cuba also came out to support the military conglomerate in response to criticism on social media.
The third round of sanctions occurs in a context of increasing pressure. The first round, announced on May 7 by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, imposed sanctions on the military conglomerate GAESA and Moa Nickel S.A., with a deadline of up to Friday, June 5 for foreign companies to terminate operations with GAESA without exposing themselves to secondary sanctions. The second round, on May 18, sanctioned the Cuban General Directorate of Intelligence (G2/DGI).
Lis Cuesta, who has an active profile on social media, had previously responded to Trump’s threats with defiant messages referencing Fidel Castro. Her inclusion on the sanctions list, along with her husband, marks an unprecedented escalation in the direct personal pressure from Washington against the leadership of the dictatorship.
In parallel, the regime released a study on Thursday that attributes a 90% rejection of sanctions among the Cuban population, which analysts interpret as an attempt to legitimize its stance before the international community.
Since January 2026, the Trump administration has imposed over 240 new sanctions against Cuba as part of a maximum pressure policy that also includes an executive order to cut off oil supplies to the island through tariffs on third countries.
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