ALBA denounces sanctions on Cuban president

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) strongly condemned the latest U.S. sanctions imposed on senior Cuban officials, calling them “infamous” and politically motivated.

In a statement released Saturday, the regional bloc denounced Washington’s actions against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Defense Minister General Álvaro López Miera, and Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas. ALBA described the sanctions as a reflection of “imperialism’s deep fear of the living example of resistance, dignity, and sovereignty embodied by the Cuban Revolution.” The alliance reaffirmed its unwavering support for Cuba, stating, “Cuba is not alone. The peoples of Our America stand with it.”

The U.S. State Department announced the new sanctions Friday, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the historic July 2021 anti-government protests in Cuba. Those protests—triggered by severe shortages of food, medicine, and electricity—marked the largest demonstrations since the 1959 revolution. Hundreds of people were arrested, and reports indicated dozens of injuries and at least one fatality.

“These sanctions target key regime figures responsible for gross human rights violations,” said the State Department. The measures include visa restrictions and extend to Cuban judicial and prison officials accused of involvement in the detention and alleged abuse of protest participants.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who unveiled the measures, said, “The Cuban people are suffering under this regime while it continues to spend lavishly on its elites. We will not remain silent as it crushes dissent.”

The sanctions also add Havana’s newly opened Torre K hotel—a 42-story luxury tower—to the U.S. list of restricted entities, barring Americans from conducting financial transactions linked to the property.

Cuban officials responded swiftly and defiantly. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez dismissed the sanctions as “futile,” insisting that Washington would never “bend the will of the Cuban people or its leaders.” Johana Tablada, a senior official in the Foreign Ministry, accused Rubio of hypocrisy, branding him a “defender of genocide, prisons, and mass deportations.”

Tensions between Havana and Washington have been on the rise in recent months. In May, Cuban authorities summoned the U.S. chargé d’affaires to protest what they called “interference in internal affairs.”

The long-standing U.S. embargo, now in its seventh decade, continues to be a flashpoint in bilateral relations. The status of political prisoners remains a particularly contentious issue. U.S. officials say about 700 individuals are still imprisoned for their role in the 2021 protests, while independent human rights groups estimate the number between 360 and 420. Some detainees have been released following the completion of their sentences or through diplomatic channels.

The latest round of sanctions signals a renewed hardline approach by the U.S., which has returned Cuba to its list of state sponsors of terrorism—reversing a 2021 decision made under the Biden administration.

This article was written with information from FRANCE 24, Associated Press, AFP, and Xinhua.