WASHINGTON. The State Department sanctioned eight companies that exploit nickel deposits, military companies dedicated to weapons research and three senior army officials, as part of its campaign to economically suffocate the communist island.
The sanctions affect four companies that build simulators, electronic components and development programs in general for the Cuban armed forces, as well as three officers involved in these tasks.
“All targets sanctioned today by the Department of State have been designated pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14404, which authorizes the imposition of sanctions on foreign individuals determined to meet specific criteria related to repression in Cuba and other threats to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” it notes.
The companies Serconi, Ceproniquel, Cediniq and Pinares were sanctioned, all of them linked to the extraction and use of nickel.
This item “constitutes a fundamental source of income for the Cuban government, generating foreign currency through the exploitation of its natural resources, which supports the regime instead of benefiting the Cuban people,” explained the State Department.
The Trump Administration “will not sit idly by in the face of the enrichment of Cuba’s elite through resource extraction,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained in a statement.
The sanctions imply a total prohibition of access to the US financial system, as well as to companies or citizens of this country.
The State Department explains that Cuba’s military companies constitute critical pillars for the regime’s defense apparatus, as they support the operational capacity of the armed forces through a wide range of industrial and technical functions.
“Today’s designations are directed against these entities and their general directors for the direct role they play in the development of Cuba’s military capabilities,” he notes.
Military companies sanctioned
*Simulator Research and Development Center (SIMPRO), based in Cuba, involved in the development and manufacturing of simulators and the training of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (FAR) and other Cuban government entities.
*Naval Research and Development Center (CIDNAV) based in Cuba, involved in researching programs for the Cuban Revolutionary War Navy (MGR).
*Infantry Armament Research and Development Center (CIDAI) based in Cuba, involved in research programs for the development, acquisition, modernization and evaluation of infantry armaments.
*Research, Development and Production Center “Grito de Baire” (GELCOM) based in Cuba, involved in the production of electronic and communications products.
Sanctioned commanders
*Joaquín Francisco Cancio Monteagudo, senior colonel in the FAR and is the general director of SIMPRO.
*Dioglis Pedrera Arguello, captain in the FAR and is the general director of CIDNAV.
*Julio Hurtado Betancourt, first colonel in the FAR and is the general director of CIDAI.
Security threat
On January 29, Trump declared a new “national emergency” regarding Cuba, which he considers a threat to the security of the United States, despite the fact that the island is experiencing a very severe economic crisis.
The following month, the United States imposed an oil embargo and began a long battery of economic suppression measures.
The Cuban government in its entirety is sanctioned, as well as all official or key business sectors, from the intelligence services to tourism.
The historical surviving leader of the 1959 Revolution, Raúl Castro, 95 years old, is, for his part, formally accused before the United States justice for the death of four Americans in the downing of two small planes belonging to an anti-Castro group in 1996. Raúl Castro was then Minister of Defense.
His relatives have also been punished.
