Trump Expands Sanctions on Cuba

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday broadening U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government, according to Reuters. The fresh sanctions target people, entities, and affiliates that support the Cuban government's security apparatus or are complicit in corruption or serious human rights violations.

The order authorizes secondary sanctions for conducting or facilitating transactions with those targeted under the order. According to two White House officials who spoke to Reuters, it was not immediately clear who exactly had been hit with sanctions under the order, which could apply to any foreign person operating in sectors like energy, defense, metals and mining, financial services, or security sector of the Cuban economy.

The Cuban government has firmly rejected new sanctions levied by Trump, calling them 'unilateral coercive measures' intended to impose 'collective punishment on the Cuban people,' according to Al Jazeera. In a post on social media on Friday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that these measures are extraterritorial in nature and violate the United Nations Charter. The sanctions come despite moves toward dialogue between the two countries, with senior US officials visiting the island for talks in April.

The economic situation has worsened for Cuba since Washington imposed a fuel blockade in January, with only one Russian oil tanker making it through since then. Supply shortages and power cuts have become the norm, and tourism – once Cuba’s most lucrative industry – has plummeted. Jeremy Paner, a former sanctions investigator at the US Treasury's office of foreign assets control, said the move was the most significant one for non-American companies since the US embargo against Cuba began decades ago.