The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, reaffirmed on Thursday Washington's policy of pressure against the Cuban regime and announced sanctions against eight entities and three individuals linked to the military apparatus and the nickel sector in Cuba.
Rubio announced it in a post on X, and later the State Department detailed the measures in an official statement and a fact sheet released this Thursday.
“Communist Cuba is a failed and corrupt state and a persistent threat to the national security of the United States, located less than 100 miles from the U.S. coastline,” Rubio stated.
The head of U.S. diplomacy also contrasted the conditions faced by the population with the management of resources by the ruling elites.
"While ordinary Cubans endure blackouts, food shortages, and brutality, the elites of the regime continue to hoard the island's resources for themselves and for Cuba's repressive security apparatus," he wrote.
Rubio asserted that Washington will maintain this course of action: "The United States will continue to expose and sanction those who support this system."
The secretary specified that the new designations affect a total of 11 actors: eight entities and three individuals involved, according to the U.S. government, in the development of Cuban military capabilities and the exploitation of the mining sector.
"Today, I sanction another 11 individuals involved in the development of Cuba's military capabilities and the exploitation of its mining sector," he stated.
In the statement that accompanied the announcement, Rubio asserted that for decades the Cuban government has directed the country's resources towards "a small and corrupt military elite," an accusation from Washington that Havana routinely rejects and counters with its claims about the impact of U.S. sanctions.
"The Trump Administration will not stand idly by while the Cuban elite enrich themselves through the extraction of resources and hoard resources for Cuba's repressive security apparatus while the Cuban people suffer," Rubio stated.
The measures target, on one hand, four research and development entities linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR): the Simulation Research and Development Center (SIMPRO), the Naval Research and Development Center (CIDNAV), the Infantry Armament Research and Development Center (CIDAI), and the Grito de Baire Research, Development, and Production Center (GELCOM).
The State Department attributes to those entities functions related to simulators and military training, naval research, development and modernization of infantry weaponry, and production of electronic and communication equipment.
Three leaders of these organizations were also appointed: Joaquín Francisco Cancio Monteagudo, senior colonel of the FAR and general director of SIMPRO; Dioglis Pedrera Argüello, captain of the FAR and general director of CIDNAV; and Julio Hurtado Betancourt, senior colonel and general director of CIDAI.
The second group of sanctions targets four state entities associated with the Cuban nickel industry: SERCONI, which provides services and tools to the sector; CEPRONIQUEL, focused on engineering projects; CEDINIQ, a state research and innovation center; and PINARES S.A., a mining company dedicated to geological studies of deposits.
The State Department argued that nickel is "a critical source of foreign income" for the Cuban government and noted that the new designations aim to impact both this source of resources and the structures related to military development.
The sanctions were imposed under the Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026.
The provision authorizes sanctions against individuals operating, among others, in the Cuban sectors of energy, defense and related materials, metals and mining, financial services, and security.
As a result of the designations, the assets and interests in assets of the sanctioned individuals located in the United States or under the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Entities that are held, directly or indirectly, at 50% or more, individually or jointly, by one or more blocked persons will also be frozen.
The State Department also warned that foreign individuals and entities engaging in certain operations with those sanctioned may be subject to U.S. measures.
The new round comes just a week after Rubio stated that Washington had imposed "the strongest sanctions in history" regarding its relationship with Cuba and left open the possibility of further actions.
"They can always take action. I'm not going to speculate on what those actions might be, but we always have the right to operate and to do things to protect the national security of the United States," he said during an interview released on September 10.
The pressure strategy had also been put forward by Rubio months earlier. On May 21, he asserted that the Cuban government could not simply wait for a shift in Washington's stance: “They will not be able to wait for us or buy time. We are very serious. We are very focused.”
The sanctions announced this Thursday represent a continuation of that policy and add to other measures adopted in recent months against Cuban business, military, and financial structures.
The designations this Thursday specifically affect the military research apparatus and companies linked to the state nickel business.
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