US sanctions Banco Exterior de Cuba and a second Castro grandson
The State Department sanctioned Banco Exterior de Cuba, four energy and mining firms and Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, a 31-year-old grandson of former leader Raul Castro, as part of its campaign to tighten Cuba's oil access. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures target the governing elite, and the Treasury named Castro Calis as an adult son of Alejandro Castro Espin, already under sanctions since June. Cuba's foreign minister rejected the accusations behind the move.
Geopolitics··Midday
US State Department sanctions Banco Exterior de Cuba and Castro's grandson
The US State Department said on Thursday it was sanctioning several Cuban companies along with Fidel Ernesto Castro, the 31-year-old grandson of former leader Raul Castro. The list covers two nickel mining companies, two energy companies including an oil importer, and the state-owned Banco Exterior de Cuba. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures target the elites of Cuba's Communist government, continuing a campaign of tightening measures and a fuel blockade that runs alongside the decades-old embargo.[1]
Treasury names the entities and links Castro Calis to an already-sanctioned father
The Treasury named the sanctioned companies as Banco Exterior de Cuba, Comercial Cupet, Nicarotec, Abapet and Cexni, and described Castro Calis as an adult son of Alejandro Castro Espin, who was already under US sanctions. Washington had also sanctioned Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, his wife Lis Cuesta Peraza, and Alejandro Castro Espin himself, another grandson of Raul Castro, in June. Cuba's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to the new measures.[2]
Havana rejects the accusations as it publishes market reforms
Washington accused Cuba of economic mismanagement and of seeking to export subversive Marxist ideology, while Havana published 34 pages of pro-market legal changes allowing private tourism companies and easier access to foreign bank accounts. Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, rejected the accusations and said Cuba does not threaten US national security or its economy; he had earlier blamed Washington for the island's economic crisis. The US has restricted Cuba's oil imports since early 2026 and threatened tariffs on countries that keep supplying the island, while the UN human rights commissioner has pointed to medical supply shortages and power grid failures affecting civilians.[1], [2]
