US sanctions Cuban mining, financial and logistics firms in new crackdown
Key Points(5)
- The United States has expanded its sanctions targeting Cuba’s economic and security networks, designating five entities and one individual accused of helping generate revenue for the Cuban government, according to a statement released by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on June 23, 2026.
- Rubio said the measures were taken under President Trump’s Executive Order 14404, signed May 1, 2026, which focuses on individuals and organizations deemed responsible for repression in Cuba and threats to US national security and foreign policy.
- At the centre of the new sanctions is the Cuban military-linked conglomerate GAESA, which the State Department described as the “financial muscle” behind the country’s ruling system.
- Rubio said three of the newly designated entities are tied to GAESA, including two financial institutions and a logistics company allegedly used to move funds and execute government directives.
- The US also imposed sanctions on two additional Cuban entities linked to the country’s mining sector, including the state-owned firm GeoMinera, which Washington says contributes to state revenue through the exploitation of mineral and metal resources.
The United States has expanded its sanctions targeting Cuba’s economic and security networks, designating five entities and one individual accused of helping generate revenue for the Cuban government, according to a statement released by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on June 23, 2026.
Rubio said the measures were taken under President Trump’s Executive Order 14404, signed May 1, 2026, which focuses on individuals and organizations deemed responsible for repression in Cuba and threats to US national security and foreign policy.
At the centre of the new sanctions is the Cuban military-linked conglomerate GAESA, which the State Department described as the “financial muscle” behind the country’s ruling system. Rubio said three of the newly designated entities are tied to GAESA, including two financial institutions and a logistics company allegedly used to move funds and execute government directives.
The US also imposed sanctions on two additional Cuban entities linked to the country’s mining sector, including the state-owned firm GeoMinera, which Washington says contributes to state revenue through the exploitation of mineral and metal resources.
In addition, one individual connected to the extended Castro family was designated under the new measures. The statement identified the person as the wife of Alejandro Castro Espín, who had previously been sanctioned under the same executive order.
Rubio said the targeted network plays a central role in sustaining what he described as the Cuban regime’s repressive security apparatus, both domestically and across the region.
“GAESA continues to operate as the financial muscle behind the Cuban regime’s repressive security apparatus,” he said, adding that the designated entities “fund, facilitate, or benefit from the regime’s malign activities.”
The latest sanctions mark a further escalation in Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Havana, focusing on entities that the US says underpin the country’s state-controlled revenue streams.
