The United States government sanctioned on Friday (11), for the first time, Cuba dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel, on the day of four years of former disorder protests of July 11, 2021 in the Caribbean country, which resulted in more than 1,400 detainees at the time, according to the US State Department.
In a statement, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, informed the designation of Díaz-Canel and other “key leaders of the regime” in “Section 7031 (C) for his involvement in revealed human rights graves,” vetoing the trip of these authoritarian figures for the United States.
The travel restriction also applies to the Defense Minister, Álvaro López Miera, the Interior Minister, Lazarus Alberto Álvarez Casas, and their families.
“Four years ago, thousands of Cubans were peacefully on the streets to demand a free future of tyranny. The Cuban regime responded with violence and repression, unjustly holding thousands, including more than 700 that remain in prison and subject to torture or abuse,” Rubio said.
Other Donald Trump government measures include visa restrictions on “several judicial and prison officials” who are accomplices or responsible for “unjust detention and torture of July 2021 protesters,” added the secretary of Cuban descent.
In addition, the White House has added 11 hotels to its list of restricted properties and prohibited accommodation in Cuba. This list includes companies and properties linked to the regime and the Business Administration Group, SA (Gaes), consortium of the Cuba Revolutionary Armed Forces.
This measure includes the new 42 -story “Torre K” hotel to “prevent US resources from reaching the island of corrupt repressors.”
This is the first time the dictator of Cuba has received punishments from Trump. On June 30, the US President presented a memorandum that, according to him, aimed to consecrate “economic practices that disproportionately benefit the government, the Armed Forces, the Cuban intelligence or security agencies at the expense of the people.”
In addition, he has banned “direct or indirect financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban military, such as Gaes and his affiliates”, and said that “the legal prohibition of US Tourism to Cuba will be fulfilled.”
Díaz-Canel’s sanction coincides with the fourth anniversary of the 11 July demonstrations, one of the biggest protests against the Cuban dictatorship in recent history, driven by discontent with the covid-19 pandemic crisis, food rationing and drug scarcity.
