The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, announced this Thursday sanctions against the state-owned International Bank of Commerce of Cuba (BICSA), which he accuses of providing services to the Iranian bank Karafarin.
In a statement, Rubio accused the socialist regime of “operating as a platform for malicious actors and terrorist groups—including the genocidal Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism—in order to attack the United States.”
“President Trump was absolutely clear,” Rubio said about what he called “extrahemispheric forces” that seek to spread “anti-American” influences in the region.
Furthermore, he explained that this measure is in addition to other actions that the Treasury Department maintains against Iranian financial actors.
For years, United States sanctions against Cuba have covered economic, commercial, financial and immigration measures that have been tightened since January in a context of growing pressure from Washington on the Castro regime in Havana to promote political change.
Washington expanded its strategy in recent months with sanctions against the designated ruler, Miguel Díaz-Canel, Fidel Castro’s family, the state oil company CUPET, ministries and state entities.
The spokesman for the Castro dictatorship, Bruno Rodríguez, accused Rubio on Wednesday of “blackmailing” several countries to modify their vote against Washington’s embargo, during the votes in the United Nations General Assembly scheduled for the 28th.
