New US Sanctions Against Cuba
On August 20, 2026, the US Departments of Treasury and State announced new sanctions against nine Cuban state-owned companies in the mining, metals, and construction sectors, along with the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP). The measures were adopted under Executive Order 14404, signed on May 1, 2026, which authorizes penalties against those Washington considers responsible for repression in Cuba or threats to US national security.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused ICAP of sponsoring “a vast subversive network in the United States aimed at identifying, recruiting, and radicalizing” US citizens. In a statement, Rubio said that “just days ago, the regime attempted to use the 100th anniversary of communist ringleader and despot Fidel Castro to revitalize this subversive network, bringing a new brigade of international sympathizers to Havana.”
Sanctioned Entities and Officials
Among the entities included in the Specially Designated Nationals list are:
- Ministry of Construction (MICONS), an agency created on May 23, 1963.
- Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara Nickel Company, located in Moa (Holguín province).
- MetalCuba, a metals trading company.
- Acinox Comercial, an importer of metallurgical products.
- Geominsal, the mining and salt business group.
- Acorec, a labor contracting agency.
- Transimport, focused on heavy transport equipment.
- Consumimport and Coratur, linked to the Foreign Trade Business Group.
The three individuals sanctioned are ICAP President Fernando González Llort, First Vice President Noemí Ramona Rabaza Fernández, and Director for North America Leima Martínez Freire. González Llort was a member of the Red Avispa (Wasp Network), dismantled by the FBI in Florida in 1998, and served time in the US until 2014.
Detentions at Miami Airport
The sanctions come after an operation at Miami International Airport over the past weekend, where several US citizens returning from Cuba—after participating in events marking the centennial of Fidel Castro's birth—were briefly detained. Some had their cell phones and other electronic devices seized for inspection.
Authorities were prepared to detain dozens of activists for secondary screening, but far fewer met the criteria for enhanced questioning by Customs and Border Protection agents. Those detained were released and allowed into the US, but they could still face legal proceedings if found to have violated sanctions, which prohibit transactions with Cuban government-owned entities, including restaurants, hotels, and shops.
Context: Oil Blockade and Energy Crisis
The Trump administration has escalated pressure on Havana, threatening possible military intervention and reinforcing economic sanctions. An oil blockade imposed after the US military incursion that toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro—whose country provided Cuba with free oil—has plunged the island into a full-blown crisis.
The fuel shortage has caused widespread blackouts, the disappearance of public transportation, medicine shortages, reduced work hours, and a collapse in tourism, the island's economic lifeline. Production at the Moa mine, operated by Canada's Sherritt International in partnership with the Cuban state, fell to 25,240 tonnes of nickel in 2025, down from 30,331 the previous year, according to company data.
Cuba's Reaction
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the sanctions as an attempt to “prevent the Cuban government from guaranteeing basic services to the population” and to obstruct “the transportation of containers with food, medicines, and medical devices.” On his X account, Rodríguez accused Rubio of “punishing Cuban companies with the deliberate purpose of affecting” the island's economy, calling the Secretary of State's policy “his failed obsession against Cuba.”
The Cuban government had not officially responded as of this writing, but historically it denounces sanctions and the decades-long embargo as an unjust attack on a poor nation for ideological differences.
Timeline and Next Steps
The Treasury clarified it does not intend to pursue foreign individuals conducting operations necessary to wind down their business with MICONS or entities 50% or more owned by it, provided that process concludes before September 19, 2026. Those unable to close in time should contact OFAC's compliance line.
The sanctions add to a sequence that began on May 7 with the military conglomerate GAESA, continued on June 4 with the designation of dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel and the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and on August 6 with thirteen targets linked to arms purchases. The Trump administration has also intensified a campaign portraying Cuba as a serious threat to US national security, accusing the Cuban government of sponsoring leftist and anti-American activism over the past six decades.