The Donald Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Cuba, adding Fidel Ernesto Castro Callis, 31, the grandson of former Council of State Chair Raúl Castro, to the sanctions list.
On the 3rd (local time), according to the Associated Press and others, the Trump administration placed Fidel Ernesto Castro Callis; Banco Exterior de Cuba; and four groups that use natural and energy resources for the Cuban regime's benefit under sanctions.
Fidel Ernesto Castro Callis has not held any notable role in Cuban politics, and his parents are already under U.S. sanctions. His father, Alejandro Castro Espín, the only son of Raúl Castro, played a key role in secret negotiations between the two countries during the process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba in 2015 under the Barack Obama administration.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X (formerly Twitter), "The ruling elite of the Cuban communist regime are amassing wealth through sanctions evasion and illegal methods while ruling over a failed state in which ordinary people go hungry," criticizing the Castro family.
Banco Exterior de Cuba is a bank that primarily handles international transactions and trade finance as well as corporate finance. In addition, two energy-related corporations, including Abapet, an importer of power infrastructure equipment in Cuba, and two nickel mining companies were included in the sanctions list.
Since early this year, the Trump administration has tightened pressure on the energy sector by blocking oil supplies bound for Cuba. As Cuba's economic and energy crisis has worsened, the additional sanctions are expected to deepen the energy shortage.
Responding to the U.S. move, Eugenio Martínez Enríquez, Cuba's ambassador to Mexico, criticized it, saying, "The United States is trying to wear down the Cuban people into submission."