U.S. imposes new sanctions on Cuban state companies

The United States on Thursday, August 20, 2026, announced new sanctions targeting nine Cuban state-owned companies and the leadership of the island's primary organization for foreign relations, escalating economic pressure on Havana's mining, construction, and labor export sectors. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the actions aimed to disrupt what he called a Cuban government effort to subvert the United States and fund repression on the island.

The Treasury and State Departments jointly announced the designations, which affect the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and several state enterprises. The sanctions freeze any assets of the targeted entities within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibit American individuals and companies from conducting business with them. The measures were authorized under a May executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

Rubio specifically cited the leadership of ICAP, naming its president, Fernando González Llort, first vice president Noemí Ramona Rabaza Fernández, and North America director Leima Martínez Freire. González Llort is a former member of the "Cuban Five" intelligence ring, who served 15 years in a U.S....