US Imposes Sanctions on Cuban President Four Years After Anti-Government Protests

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel

The United States has imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel for his role in the Cuban government’s repression of its people. The sanctions were announced on Friday, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba.

This measure is the latest in a series of actions by the administration of US President Donald Trump to increase pressure on the Cuban government. In a post on the social media platform X, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the US is restricting visas for the Cuban president and several high-ranking government officials. In July 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets to protest shortages of food, medicine, and other essential goods, as well as deteriorating economic conditions. These protests are considered among the largest in Cuba since Fidel Castro’s 1959 communist revolution. Hundreds were arrested, one person died, and many were injured during the demonstrations. The US State Department stated that it is sanctioning key Cuban regime leaders for their involvement in human rights violations. The sanctions also target Cuba’s Defense Minister Álvaro López Miera and Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas. Additionally, the US is imposing visa restrictions on Cuban judicial and prison officials accused of being involved in the unjust detention and torture of protesters during the July 2021 demonstrations. Rubio remarked, “While the Cuban people suffer from shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders.” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez strongly criticized the sanctions in a post on X, stating that the United States will never break the will of the Cuban people or its leadership. In May, the Cuban Foreign Ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest what it called US interference in Cuba’s internal affairs. The United States has maintained a trade embargo on Cuba for six decades. Rubio also accused the Cuban government of torturing dissident leader José Daniel Ferrer, demanding “proof of life” and the immediate release of all political prisoners in a post on X.

According to the US, around 700 people remain imprisoned for participating in the July 2021 protests. However, human rights organizations estimate the number to be between 360 and 420