The United States imposed new financial sanctions on Cuba’s military-linked business sector on Thursday, intensifying pressure on the island’s communist government while drawing criticism from United Nations experts over worsening fuel shortages and economic hardship.
The measures targeted Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a military-run conglomerate that U.S. officials say controls a significant portion of Cuba’s economy, along with its executive president, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.
Washington also sanctioned Moa Nickel SA, a joint venture between Cuba’s state-owned nickel company and Toronto-based Sherritt International Corp.
Sherritt later announced it had suspended its direct participation in joint venture activities in Cuba effective immediately.
The sanctions were announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio under an executive order signed last week by President Donald Trump broadening restrictions against Cuba.
Rubio said the measures reflected the administration’s determination to confront what it described as threats posed by Cuba’s communist leadership.
“Today’s sanctions demonstrate that the Trump Administration will not stand by while Cuba’s communist regime threatens our national security in our hemisphere,” Rubio wrote on X.
The latest steps follow months of escalating pressure from Washington, including moves to curb Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threats of additional penalties against countries supplying fuel to the island.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel previously condemned the measures as “coercive,” while Cuban officials accused Washington of collective punishment and interference.
The sanctions coincided with warnings from three United Nations special rapporteurs, who criticized what they described as an “unlawful blockade” creating “energy starvation” in Cuba.
The experts said fuel shortages were disrupting transportation, healthcare and education services across the country.
They cited reports of patients struggling to reach hospitals and a backlog of more than 96,000 surgeries, including thousands involving children.
The Trump administration has argued the sanctions are necessary to pressure Havana into political and economic reforms, while Cuba maintains its socialist system is non-negotiable and blames decades of U.S. sanctions for the country’s economic crisis.