The State Department warned this Wednesday that the Trump administration will continue to use "all available sanctions powers" to promote reforms in Cuba, support the aspirations for freedom of the Cuban people, and hold accountable those who threaten U.S. national security.
A press release on the Department's website expressed President Donald Trump's intention to utilize all available tools after the publication of new sanctions regulations against Cuba by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury.
The new Cuba Sanctions Regulations (CSR), signed by the OFAC director, Bradley T. Smith, came into effect this Wednesday and implement Executive Order 14404 that Trump signed on May 1, 2026, titled "Imposition of Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and Threats to National Security and U.S. Foreign Policy," invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The spokesperson for the State Department, Thomas "Tommy" Pigott, clarified in the statement that the Treasury also amended the historic Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR), in effect since 1963, to “close legal loopholes that the Cuban regime has long exploited to evade sanctions, enrich its elites, and finance dangerous subversive and military activities that threaten the national security of the United States.”
Among the most significant measures that went into effect this Wednesday is the prohibition on banks under U.S. jurisdiction from processing transactions known as "U-Turns", operations in which Cuba or a Cuban national has an interest and that originate and conclude outside the U.S.
The new regulations also mandate the blocking of bank accounts of independent private Cuban entrepreneurs, whose funds must be reported to OFAC, a measure that for the first time directly impacts the island's emerging private sector.
Additionally, the prohibition on transactions with entities on the Cuba Restricted List (CRL) is expanded to include indirect operations, the general license for attending or organizing professional conferences in Cuba is eliminated —with a 30-day deadline for those already on the island— and educational travel is restricted, which must now be conducted under the auspices of an organization subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
The CSR also establishes a framework to block assets of foreign individuals operating in strategic Cuban sectors such as energy, defense, mining, financial services, and security, and stipulates that foreign financial institutions facilitating significant transactions with individuals blocked under EO 14404 could be similarly sanctioned.
Washington has increased pressure on the regime in Havana with successive rounds of sanctions, since Trump declared a national emergency on January 29, 2026, deeming the policies and actions of the Cuban government "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security and foreign policy of the U.S.
The escalation has included measures against Cuban intelligence, Minfar, the Rapid Response Brigades, and other repressive agencies; the business conglomerate operated by the armed forces, GAESA; state institutions and entities in the energy, financial, metallurgy, and mining sectors; and figures from the hierarchy and high officials of the regime, such as the president Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The regime's reaction has been one of outright rejection. The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla described the sanctions as "collective punishment" against the Cuban population and accused Washington of obstructing academic exchanges and restricting private businesses on the island.
The Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga declared on Tuesday that the tightening of sanctions makes it difficult to attract foreign capital and hinders the 176 economic reforms announced by the government last June.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously described the 2026 measures as "the strongest sanctions in history" in the bilateral relationship and warned that even stricter measures could be forthcoming against the regime.
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