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Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
US Sanctions Cuban President Four Years After Historic Protests
The United States announced its first sanctions on Friday against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel for his role "in the Cuban regime's brutality toward the Cuban people." It is the latest in a series of measures by US President Donald Trump's administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. Demonstrations rocked the island in July 2021 as thousands took to the streets to protest shortages of basic goods and worsening economic conditions. Hundreds were arrested, one person died and dozens were injured in the lagest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution. The State Department said it was sanctioning "key regime leaders... for their involvement in gross violations of human rights." Officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. The United States was also taking steps to sanction Cuban judicial and prison officials linked to the "unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protestors." "While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the measures on X, saying the United States cannot "bend the will of its people or its leaders." In May, the Cuban foreign ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest his "interference" in the country's internal affairs. The United States has a six-decade-old trade blockade in place against Cuba. Rubio took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and demand "proof of life." "The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners," Rubio said. According to the United States, 700 people are still imprisoned for taking part in the July 2021 protests. Human rights organizations put the number at between 360 and 420. Some of the convicted protesters have been released in recent months after serving their sentences. Others, including Ferrer -- leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) -- were released as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement in January after former US president Joe Biden removed the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. But at the end of April, Ferrer's parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power. The State Department also added the "Torre K," a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities off-limits to Americans, "to prevent US dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression." The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining.
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
US sanctions Cuban president four years after historic protests
WASHINGTON: The United States announced its first sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel for his role "in the Cuban regime's brutality toward the Cuban people." It is the latest in a series of measures by US President Donald Trump's administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. Demonstrations rocked the island in July 2021 as thousands took to the streets to protest shortages of basic goods and worsening economic conditions. Hundreds were arrested, one person died and dozens were injured in the lagest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution. The State Department said it was sanctioning "key regime leaders... for their involvement in gross violations of human rights." Officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. The United States was also taking steps to sanction Cuban judicial and prison officials linked to the "unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protestors." "While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the measures on X, saying the United States cannot "bend the will of its people or its leaders." In May, the Cuban foreign ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest his "interference" in the country's internal affairs. The United States has a six-decade-old trade blockade in place against Cuba. Rubio took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and demand "proof of life." "The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners," Rubio said. According to the United States, 700 people are still imprisoned for taking part in the July 2021 protests. Human rights organisations put the number at between 360 and 420. Some of the convicted protesters have been released in recent months after serving their sentences. Others, including Ferrer -- leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) -- were released as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement in January after former US president Joe Biden removed the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. But at the end of April, Ferrer's parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power. The State Department also added the "Torre K," a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities off-limits to Americans, "to prevent US dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression." The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining. - AFP
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First Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
US sanctions Cuban president on the fourth anniversary of historic protests
The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba read more Advertisement Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel addresses party delegates after being elected First Secretary of the Communist Party during the 8th Cuban Communist Party's closing session at Convention Palace in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April. 19, 2021. AP The United States announced its first sanctions on Friday against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel for his role 'in the Cuban regime's brutality toward the Cuban people.' It is the latest in a series of measures by US President Donald Trump's administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Demonstrations rocked the island in July 2021 as thousands took to the streets to protest shortages of basic goods and worsening economic conditions. Hundreds were arrested, one person died and dozens were injured in the lagest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution. The State Department said it was sanctioning 'key regime leaders… for their involvement in gross violations of human rights.' Officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. The United States was also taking steps to sanction Cuban judicial and prison officials linked to the 'unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protestors.' 'While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders,' Rubio said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the measures on X, saying the United States cannot 'bend the will of its people or its leaders.' In May, the Cuban foreign ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest his 'interference' in the country's internal affairs. The United States has a six-decade-old trade blockade in place against Cuba. Political prisoners Rubio took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and demand 'proof of life.' 'The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners,' Rubio said. According to the United States, 700 people are still imprisoned for taking part in the July 2021 protests. Human rights organizations put the number at between 360 and 420. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Some of the convicted protesters have been released in recent months after serving their sentences. Others, including Ferrer – leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) – were released as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement in January after former US president Joe Biden removed the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. But at the end of April, Ferrer's parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power. The State Department also added the 'Torre K,' a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities off-limits to Americans, 'to prevent US dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression.' The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining.
LeMonde
4 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
US sanctions Cuban president four years after historic protests
The United States announced its first sanctions on Friday, July 11, against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel for his role "in the Cuban regime's brutality toward the Cuban people." It is the latest in a series of measures by US President Donald Trump's administration to increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States was restricting visas for the Cuban president and other high-ranking government officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post on the fourth anniversary of historic anti-government protests in Cuba. Demonstrations rocked the island in July 2021 as thousands took to the streets to protest shortages of basic goods and worsening economic conditions. Hundreds were arrested, one person died and dozens were injured in the lagest protests since Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution. The State Department said it was sanctioning "key regime leaders... for their involvement in gross violations of human rights." Officials sanctioned included Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas. The United States was also taking steps to sanction Cuban judicial and prison officials linked to the "unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protestors." "While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio said. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the measures on X, saying the United States cannot "bend the will of its people or its leaders." Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. Take the survey In May, the Cuban foreign ministry summoned the US envoy to Havana to protest his "interference" in the country's internal affairs. The United States has a six-decade-old trade blockade in place against Cuba. 'Proof of life' Rubio took to X to accuse Cuba of torturing dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer and demand "proof of life." "The United States demands immediate proof of life and the release of all political prisoners," Rubio said. According to the United States, 700 people are still imprisoned for taking part in the July 2021 protests. Human rights organizations put the number at between 360 and 420. Some of the convicted protesters have been released in recent months after serving their sentences. Others, including Ferrer – leader of the dissident group Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) -–were released as part of a Vatican-mediated agreement in January after former US president Joe Biden removed the island from the blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism. But at the end of April, Ferrer's parole was revoked, prompting criticism from Washington, which has put Cuba back on the blacklist after Trump returned to power. The State Department also added the "Torre K," a 42-story hotel in Havana, to its restricted list of entities off-limits to Americans, "to prevent US dollars from funding the Cuban regime's repression." The establishment, recently inaugurated in a central area of the Cuban capital, sparked criticism of the government's huge investment in new hotels at a time when tourism is declining.
France 24
29-04-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Cuban court revokes parole of two prominent dissidents
Ferrer and Felix Navarro, another prisoner released from prison in January, had "failed to comply with the provisions of the law during the probation period to which they were subjected," the court said in a statement. Ferrer, who has been in and out of prison on the communist-run island for years, was granted parole in January after his latest stint of more than three years behind bars. The 54-year-old was the most high-profile of the prisoners that Cuba released after Biden agreed to remove the country from a US list of terrorism sponsors. Ferrer's sister Ana Belkis Ferrer Garcia, based in the United States, wrote on X Tuesday that security forces had stormed the headquarters of the UNPACU opposition organization run from her brother's home. They took her brother, his wife Nelva, their son "little Daniel Jose" and other activists "to an unknown location," she added. "We demand his immediate release and that of all detainees and political prisoners," said the message. Ferrer and Navarro have both been declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. Cuba says its opponents are "mercenaries" in the pay of the United States. 'Conspirational activities' Havana claims it has released all 553 people it had agreed to free under the deal with Vatican-mediated deal with Biden, including 231 considered political prisoners by rights groups. Most of the 231, including Ferrer, were rounded up in a crackdown on mass protests against the Cuban government in July 2021. Biden's successor, Donald Trump, has since reinstated Cuba on the terror list. Ferrer and Navarro were among 75 opposition members arrested in a three-day period of repression in March 2003 known as the "Black Spring." Members of the group received sentences of six to 28 years on charges of working with a foreign power. Ferrer got 25 years. Both men were freed in 2011, along with 130 other political prisoners, following mediation by the Catholic Church. Later that year, Ferrer founded UNPACU, one of the most active opposition organizations in the one-party state. He was sent back to prison following the protests of July 2021. Since his release this year, he has repeatedly criticized the communist government on social networks. He runs a canteen at his home for people in need, funded by Cubans abroad. He claims the authorities despise his social activism for highlighting the poverty in which many live. 'Prisoners of conscience' The Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, an opposition group, in a statement denounced what it called a "coordinated operation by state security aimed at neutralizing two of the most important leaders of the Cuban dissident movement." The Supreme Court said Tuesday Ferrer had ignored two summons to appear in court. "Not only did he not appear, but he also announced via his social media profile, in blatant defiance and violation of the law, that he would not appear before the judicial authority," it added. His fellow dissident Navarro, 72, was also released in January under the Vatican-mediated deal. But the court said he had left his municipality seven times without seeking a judge's permission "in blatant violation of the law." It also claimed the men "maintain public ties" with the US chief of mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer.
