Offensive against Castrismo: US sanctions Miguel Díaz-Canel's family and Raúl Castro's son to force democratic reforms
To this family siege was added the dismantling of foreign financing platforms previously announced by the Secretary of State.
Secretary Marco Rubio photographed on June 4 in Washington.
The State Department on Thursday imposed a new set of sanctions aimed directly at Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel, his immediate family and Alejandro Castro Espín, son of former dictator Raúl Castro, in a coordinated effort to intensify economic and political pressure to force democratic reforms on the island.
The measure cuts travel and residency privileges of the regime's heirs. Among those sanctioned are Diaz-Canel's wife and first lady, Lis Cuesta Peraza, and his stepson, Manuel Anido Cuesta.
While the Cuban dictator was already sanctioned, his close associates had managed to evade financial repercussions; in the case of Anido Cuesta, sources consulted by the Miami Herald confirmed that he resided in Spain and made constant trips abroad as an emissary of his stepfather.
Likewise, the sanctions reached Raúl Alejandro Castro Calis, son of Alejandro Castro Espín. The inclusion of the latter -who actedas the dictatorship's key negotiator during the Obama administration's diplomatic thaw- sends a strong signal that Washington considers him an insurmountable obstacle to any current dialogue.
In contrast, the Donald Trump administration has chosen to draw a different line of interlocution within the one-party dynasty, opting for Raúl Castro's grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.
To this family encirclement was added the dismantling of foreign financing platforms previously announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who ratified the use of the administration's special powers to neutralize Marxist influence operations in the hemisphere.
Dismantling of the economic and neighborhood control pillars.
Washington's new blacklist surgically targets fundamental institutions of the power structure on the island. The secretary of state detailed the criminal designation of five Cuban corporations and state agencies:
- The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR), the backbone of the regime's military and economic control.
- The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and the agency Amistur Cuba S.A., recurrently pointed out as fronts for international propaganda operations and ideological recruitment.
- The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), the neighborhood watch network used for the denunciation and repression of dissident citizens.
- Minera La Victoria S.A., a state corporation focused on the exploitation of mineral resources to inject cash into the coffers of the ruling elite.
"For decades, Cuba has been the world capital of radical leftist terrorism," Rubio emphasized in a post on X.
In addition, he argued that the Havana regime has actively recruited, trained and supported Marxist and Third Worldist violent factions throughout the Americas, a pattern of interference that the United States seeks to shut down for good.
High alert for the international banking system
The White House offensive includes a secondary sanctions mechanismwith immediate repercussions on global financial markets.
Rubio issued a blunt warningdirected to commercial intermediaries in the rest of the world, noting that "anyone who provides services to these sanctioned actors risks being sanctioned themselves."
Accordingly, Washington's mandate requires foreign banks and international corporations that maintain service linkswith blacklisted entities to immediately freeze such activitiesif they wish to retain their access to the U.S. financial system.
"The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate radical Marxist regimes in our hemisphere seeking to threaten the national security of the United States," the secretary of state concluded, closing the doors to influence operations aimed at exporting communist doctrine into U.S. territory.
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