U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured on Thursday that both he and President Donald Trump maintain an "unwavering" commitment to "Cuba being free," following the announcement of a new round of sanctions against the Cuban regime.
The measures include the appointment of Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, grandson of Raúl Castro, as well as the Foreign Bank of Cuba and four state entities related to the island's energy and mining sectors.
In a post on X, Rubio lashed out at the Cuban ruling elite, accusing them of enriching themselves while the population faces severe shortages.
"The elites of the Cuban communist regime preside over a failed state where ordinary Cubans suffer from hunger while the Castro family and other close associates enrich themselves through sanction evasion and other illicit schemes, seeking to export subversive Marxist ideology to the United States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere. President Trump and I are unwavering in our commitment that Cuba will be free," he stated.
Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, born on May 16, 1995, is the son of Alejandro Castro Espín —previously sanctioned last June— and the grandson of Raúl Castro, marking a milestone: for the first time, Washington's sanctions reach three generations of the Castro family.
Alongside Castro Calis, five entities were designated: the Banco Exterior de Cuba, a state financial institution based in Havana; Comercial CUPET S.A., the commercial arm of Unión Cuba-Petróleo; ABAPET, an importing company for oil supplies; NICAROTEC, dedicated to support services for mining in Mayarí, Holguín; and CEXNI, an importing and supplying company for nickel located in Moa, Holguín.
The sanctions were coordinated between the State Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department, under the authority of Executive Order 14404, signed by President Trump on May 1, 2026. This order also enables secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that do business with the designated individuals.
The official statement from the State Department included another remark from Rubio: "While the Cuban people suffer, the Castro family and their accomplices in the repressive Ministry of the Interior continue to maintain their total control over the island's economy, hoarding resources for the benefit of a small group of regime elites."
This action is part of a maximum pressure campaign that has accumulated more than 240 sanctions against Cuba since January 2026.
In June, Washington had already designated Alejandro Castro Espín, his wife Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero, and his son Raúl Alejandro Castro Calis, as well as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, his wife Lis Cuesta Peraza, and his stepson Manuel Anido Cuesta.
In August, eight Cuban state-owned enterprises connected to nickel, steel, and tourism were added to the specially designated nationals list, and weeks earlier, five entities from the arms sector faced the same fate.
One detail that has not gone unnoticed among analysts is the deliberate exclusion of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo" and also the grandson of Raúl Castro, from all sanctions lists to date.
The prevailing interpretation is that Washington retains it as a possible informal channel of communication with Havana.
Along with the designations, the OFAC issued Cuba General License 4A, which authorizes transactions for diplomatic and consular missions of third countries on the island, an exception mechanism aimed at preserving international diplomatic presence in the country.
Rubio concluded his statement with a declaration of intent that summarizes the strategy of the Trump administration: "These designations reflect President Trump's unwavering vision of a free Cuba, where the regime's illicit financial networks, its repressive apparatus, and the power structures of the Castro era are dismantled."
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