US Imposes New Sanctions on Cuba

The United States imposed new sanctions on five Cuban companies and Fidel Ernesto Castro, a grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, on Thursday, stepping up economic pressure on the communist-run country.

The US State Department said the 31-year-old Fidel Ernesto was sanctioned as an adult family member of other members of the Castro family already subject to sanctions.

The measures also targeted the state-owned Banco Exterior de Cuba, two companies involved in nickel mining and two companies active in the energy sector, including an oil importer.

Since the beginning of the year, Washington has restricted Cuba’s access to oil, threatening tariffs on countries that continue to supply it. The measures have exacerbated problems with the country’s already weak power grid, causing repeated nationwide blackouts and further limiting the transport of goods and access to healthcare.

The UN has warned that the situation could trigger a humanitarian crisis. Cuban authorities, meanwhile, announced plans in July to open key sectors of the economy to private industry in an effort to withstand US sanctions.

(Reuters, sab)