U.S. Expands Sanctions on Cuban State Industries and ICAP

The United States government expanded economic sanctions against Cuba on August 20, 2026, targeting nine state-owned companies in the mining, metallurgy, and construction sectors. The U.S. Department of the Treasury blacklisted entities including the Ministry of Construction, Metalcuba, and the nickel miner Empresa de Niquel Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara, as well as ACINOX Comercial S.A. and ACOREC S.A.

Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, stated the measures aim to dismantle a subversive network used by the Cuban government to radicalize American citizens. The sanctions specifically target the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), including president Fernando González Llort, vice president Leima Martínez Freire, and North American director Noemi Ramona Rabaza Fernández. These actions follow a Miami airport operation where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detained American citizens returning from events marking Fidel Castro's 100th birthday.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla rejected the sanctions, claiming the U.S. is deliberately harming the Cuban economy to prevent the provision of basic services. UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk warned that these measures, combined with a de facto oil blockade implemented in early 2026, have triggered a humanitarian crisis characterized by nationwide blackouts, food insecurity, and critical medicine shortages.