Further Sanctions on Cuba’s Elites, Financial Channels, and Resource Exploitation Apparatus

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Further Sanctions on Cuba’s Elites, Financial Channels, and Resource Exploitation Apparatus Press Statement September 3, 2026 The Communist Cuban regime continues to pose a deep, multifaceted threat to U.S. national security and our hemisphere’s stability. While the Cuban people suffer, the Castro family and their cronies in Cuba’s repressive Ministry of the Interior (MININT) continue to perpetuate their total control of the island’s economy, hoarding resources for the benefit of a small group of regime elites. Today, pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order (E.O.) 14404, “Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to United States National Security and Foreign Policy,” I am designating five entities and one individual whose activities prop up the regime’s financial services, metals and mining, and energy sectors, and are part of networks that advance the regime’s threats to U.S. national security. Among those designated today are a grandson of Raúl Castro, Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, Banco Exterior de Cuba, and four entities exploiting Cuba’s natural resources or energy reserves for the benefit of the regime.