Washington placed several Cuban personalities under economic sanctions on Thursday, including President Miguel Diaz-Canel as well as the son and one of the grandsons of Raul Castro.

Published on: 04/06/2026 - 23:52Modified on: 05/06/2026 - 07:23

Tensions between Cuba and the United States continue. The American government placed several Cuban personalities under economic sanctions on Thursday, June 4, including President Miguel Diaz-Canel and members of the Castro family. The son and one of the grandsons of Raul Castro are thus sanctioned, who no longer has an official function but remains, at 95 years old, at the heart of decisions concerning the future of the communist island.

The Cuban president's wife and her son are also placed on the blacklist of the US Department of Finance, alongside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Miguel Diaz-Canel has also been the subject of sanctions issued by American diplomacy since July 2025.

Raul Castro's son, Alejandro Castro Espin, was a key player in the secret negotiations between Cuba and the United States which led in 2015 to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“The aggressiveness and perversity of the Yankee government will clash with our decision to face the worst scenarios and resist the imperial attack,” Cuban head of state Miguel Diaz-Canel reacted on X. These sanctions “aim to strengthen the blockade measures and the climate of conflict between Cuba and the United States,” he accused.

Read alsoIndictment of Raul Castro in the United States: “We see a Cuban government on the defensive”

When Washington imposes sanctions on people, any assets they may have in the United States are frozen. American companies and citizens are prohibited from trading with them, at the risk of being hit by sanctions in turn.

This new wave of sanctions "is the latest demonstration of the American interventionist plan aimed at presenting Cuba as a threat to the national security of the United States", reacted on X the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez.

The Gaesa in the viewfinder

“The entities and individuals designated today direct or finance the regime and its efforts to mobilize its radical revolutionary movements in the United States,” said in a statement the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, of Cuban origin and fierce opponent of the government in Havana. “I am also continuing to dismantle the military cartel which has monopolized all economic power in Cuba for the benefit of a small circle of regime elites,” he added, referring to the business conglomerate linked to the army.

This “Business Administration Group”, known as GAE.SA or Gaesa, is already the subject of sanctions by Washington and has been weakened in recent weeks by the withdrawal of foreign partners from the island of 9.6 million inhabitants. Several international hotel groups have thus withdrawn from the management of nearly a hundred establishments on the island, most associated with Gaesa. And payments by Visa and Mastercard had to be suspended.

Relations between the United States and Cuba have become significantly strained since the start of the year. Washington imposed a de facto oil blockade on the island, enacted new sanctions against Cuban businesses and leaders, and indicted former President Raul Castro, accused of murdering Americans in 1996.

Also read: Raul Castro indicted in the United States: a former Cuban spy gives his version of the 1996 attack

Donald Trump believes that the communist island, located 150 kilometers from the coast of Florida, represents “an extraordinary threat” to the national security of the United States. The American president has repeatedly threatened to “take control”.

Cuba? 'We'll take care of it,' Trump says

Asked Thursday in the Oval Office at the White House to find out if these sanctions were aimed at pushing the collapse of the Cuban economy, Donald Trump said he wanted "simply for it to be a well-managed country, which can feed its people".

"The country is starving (...) it has no money, it has nothing. It has a magnificent piece of land. We could have superb seaside tourist complexes," added the American president. "And we're going to take care of it as soon as we're done. I like to do one thing at a time and we're going to take care of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he added.

With AFP

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