Photo: U.S. Air Force/Christopher Bermudez
The United States announced sanctions against 10 targets tied to Cuba and identified five associated vessels as blocked property Thursday, widening pressure on oil shipping, state-owned businesses and China-based suppliers that Washington accuses of supporting the Cuban military.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the action under Executive Order 14404 in a State Department statement. Separately, Treasury expanded the sectors in which foreign persons can be designated for sanctions to include electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology activities in the Cuban economy.
The measures put shipping companies, oil-trade intermediaries and technology suppliers with Cuban business under closer sanctions scrutiny. The named vessels and Chinese suppliers make the action relevant to firms handling cargo, payments and equipment across those networks.
Oil shipping and state companies targeted
Rubio said the targets include Guillermo Faustino Rodriguez Lopez Calleja, whom the State Department described as part of an offshore shipping network moving Cuban crude oil to and from the island. It also designated Any Rodriguez Lastres, the daughter of previously designated GAESA President Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control’s November 5 record lists shipping businesses Internacional Maritima, Petroleos Maritimos del Caribe, Tentacool Commercial and Caroil Transport Marine under the Cuba sanctions authority. Cuban state enterprises Cubaelectronica and Tecnosime also appear in the action.
The five vessels identified in the Cuba action are Emilia, Gloria C, Maria Cristina, Esperanza and Lourdes, according to OFAC’s register. Its updates add Cuba-related designations to several ships and businesses already listed under Venezuela-related sanctions.
China-based suppliers included
The action includes Beijing H and C Technologies and CEIEC, also known as China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation. The State Department described the China-based targets as suppliers of Cuba’s military forces. OFAC’s record adds Beijing H and C Technologies and gives CEIEC an additional Cuba-related designation alongside its existing Venezuela designation.
Rubio accused Cuban leaders and their foreign partners of directing energy, shipping and technology resources toward military elites and supporting repression. Those allegations form the administration’s stated basis for the sanctions.
Treasury opens four sectors to designations
A separate Treasury determination effective November 5 applies Section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404 to the electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology sectors of Cuba’s economy.
Under that authority, foreign persons determined by the relevant U.S. officials to operate or have operated in those sectors can be sanctioned. The determination creates a basis for individual designations, while Thursday’s named targets and vessels are set out in the separate sanctions action.
JBizNews Desk | Global & Business
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