The government of Joe Bide n announced on Friday more selective individual sanctions against officials and entities of the Cuban regime after the president of the United States met with a group of Cuban-American leaders to discuss their government’s response to the recent historical protests against the government on the communist island, which have shown the world the crisis in Cuba, reported POLITICAL .
The reaction of the US government occurs after Thousands of Cuban-Americans protested in Washington on Monday to urge President Joe Biden to take swift action and do more to support the Cuban people after protests across the island.
Demonstrations led by Cuban-Americans have continued in Washington, Miami and several cities in the country and the world in the almost three weeks since the protests began in Cuba on 11 of July.
On Friday, the Treasury Department imposed individual sanctions on the Cuban police force, known as the National Revolutionary Police of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, and two of its leaders, Oscar Callejas Valcarce and Eddy Sierra Arias. The sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the United States to impose economic sanctions on individuals believed to be involved in human rights abuses and corruption.
Just before meeting with Cuban-American leaders, Biden on Friday described the situation in Cuba as “intolerable” and said that more sanctions will come “unless there is some drastic change in Cuba, which I do not anticipate.”
USA evaluates options to facilitate Internet access for Cubans
President Biden assured that his government is evaluating “all available options” to facilitate the people Cuban access to the Internet and help him “circumvent” censorship.
He also indicated that he has ordered the Treasury Department to present within a month recommendations on “how maximize the flow of remittances to the Cuban people, without the military taking a part. ”
“ I’m here to listen, ”said the president to his invited guests, and regretted that the Cuban people have “suffered decades under a failed communist regime.” This Friday’s meeting with Biden was attended by the Cuban singer Yotuel Romero, whose song “Patria y vida” became the “soundtrack” of the popular protests in Cuba, in addition to the Democratic senator Bob Menéndez and the congressman of the same party Gregory Meeks.
Manny Díaz, former mayor of Miami, also attended (2001 – 2009); Felice Gorordo, Cuban-American businessman and CEO of eMerge Americas; and Ana Sofía Peláez, co-founder of the organization “Miami Freedom Project”.
This Friday is the second round of sanctions that the Biden government has imposed in relation to the unprecedented anti-government protests of the past 11 July in Cuba.