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The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel reacted this Monday to the new round of sanctions announced by the United States against state entities on the island and accused the administration of President Donald Trump of intensifying a strategy to suffocate the Cuban economy.
Through a message posted on his X account, Díaz-Canel described the measures as a deliberate aggression against the population.
"Another week, a new list of 'sanctions' against Cuba. It is the war of the U.S. and its eagerness to strangle our economy. They strengthen the aggression in search of greater harm to the people. We are facing a genocidal design plan denounced at the UN less than a week ago," wrote the leader.
Her reaction came hours after the Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), added ten new Cuban entities to the List of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN).
Among the sanctioned organizations is, for the first time, an entire ministry: the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba (MINTUR). The measure also affected GEMAR, GECOMEX, COREYDAN S.A., ENETEC S.A., ANTEX S.A., OSDE Caudal S.A., the Territorial Troops Militias (MTT), the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution (ACRC), and the Rapid Response Brigades.
The new designations were adopted under Executive Order 14404, signed by Trump on May 1, 2026, which expanded sanctions against entities linked to the Cuban government and includes measures for those who engage in certain operations with them.
The reference to the UN
In his message, Díaz-Canel referred to the extraordinary session of the UN General Assembly held on July 7, convened by Cuba to denounce the tightening of U.S. sanctions.
During that debate, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, described the measures from Washington as an "act of genocide" and a "collective punishment" against the Cuban people.
The resolution was approved by the General Assembly with 136 votes in favor, nine against—including the United States, Argentina, and Israel—and 40 abstentions.
On behalf of Washington, Jeffrey Bartos rejected the accusations from the Cuban government and stated that "there is no American blockade; the only embargo is the guillotine that the regime holds over its people," as well as denouncing the situation of political prisoners on the island.
The pressure from Washington continues
The sanctions announced this Monday are part of the pressure strategy promoted by the Trump administration since early 2026.
In recent months, the United States has sanctioned GAESA, MININT, MINFAR, CUPET, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), and Miguel Díaz-Canel himself, as well as other entities deemed by Washington as sources of financing or instruments of repression for the regime.
The new measures come in the context of a deep economic crisis in Cuba, characterized by prolonged blackouts, fuel shortages, a decline in tourism, and a sustained contraction of economic activity, while Havana attributes the deterioration mainly to the tightening of U.S. sanctions, and Washington blames the economic and political model of the regime.
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