Rubio Announces New Sanctions on Cuban Financial, Energy Networks

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  September 4, 2026

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced new sanctions targeting Cuba’s financial, energy and mining networks, including a Cuban bank and a grandson of former president Raúl Castro, as the Trump administration steps up economic pressure on Havana.

Rubio said the US had designated five entities and one individual under an executive order authorising sanctions against those deemed responsible for repression in Cuba and threats to US national security and foreign policy.

Among those sanctioned is Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, identified by the State Department as a grandson of Raúl Castro, as well as Banco Exterior de Cuba and four entities involved in Cuba’s metals, mining and energy sectors.

The US government said the targeted entities support the Cuban regime’s financial services and natural-resource and energy operations, which Washington argues provide economic benefits to senior regime figures.

The measures broaden US sanctions beyond political and security officials to parts of Cuba’s economic infrastructure, including financial services and resource exploitation.

Rubio said the sanctions were intended to weaken what he described as the Cuban government’s financial networks and entrenched power structures.

“These designations reflect President Trump’s unwavering vision for a free Cuba,” Rubio said, adding that the administration wants to dismantle the regime’s “illicit financial networks, repressive apparatuses, and entrenched Castro-era power structures.”

The State Department said the measures were taken pursuant to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14404, which provides the legal basis for sanctions against individuals and entities linked to repression in Cuba and threats to US national security and foreign policy.

Source: FSX Business News