Joe Biden imposes new sanctions on the government of Cuba | Island’s Foreign Office rejects US ‘defamatory’ measures

The american president Joe biden announced this Thursday new sanctions against the government of Cuba. Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez He rejected the “defamatory” measures and said the United States should fight the repression and social violence taking place in its own territory. In turn, the diplomat demanded proof of the charges brought by the US government.

Blockade and more sanctions

The Biden administration announced that the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, lvaro López Miera, and the Cuban Interior Ministry Special National Brigade (MININT), were included in a prohibitive list by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which would not allow access to the US financial system. OFAC has frozen the property and interests of López Miera, as well as the Special National Brigade of the Cuban Interior Ministry, pointing to human rights violations in the framework of the protests

The sanctions against López Miera and the MININT special unit freeze all assets and interests they have in the United States and also prohibit any American citizen, resident or entity from doing business with them. However, the impact of Washington’s sanctions is limited as MININT as a whole was already on the OFAC list and López Miera likely has no assets under US jurisdiction. Asked in this regard, the spokesperson for the US State Department, Ned Prize, he admitted it was “largely to send a message” to Cuba. Later, during a press conference, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs claimed that López Miera does not have an account in the United States and has no interest in traveling to that country.

Biden and the OAS

“This is just the beginning: the United States will continue to sanction those responsible for the oppression of the Cuban people,” Biden threatened, referring to the sanctions announced on Thursday that specifically affect the Minister of Defense, lvaro López Miera, Yet the National Brigade of the Ministry of the Interior. “I unequivocally condemn the mass arrests and mock trials that unjustly condemn those who dare to speak out in prison with the aim of intimidating and threatening the Cuban people to remain silent. The Cuban people have the same right to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration as any other people ”, declared the American president.

“The United States supports the courageous Cubans who have taken to the streets to oppose 62 years of repression under a communist regime,” Biden added in a statement. While, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, defended the new sanctions against Cuba. “The Treasury will continue to apply its sanctions related to Cuba, including those imposed today, to support the Cuban people in their quest for democracy and relief from the Cuban regime,” said Yellen.

Biden also pledged to work with the Organization of American States (OAS) to “pressure the regime to immediately release unjustly detained political prisoners.”, restore access to the Internet and allow Cubans to enjoy their fundamental rights.

The double stick of the USA

The Cuban government’s response was immediate. the Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez noted that the United States “It should apply the Global Magnitsky Act to itself for acts of daily repression and police brutality which claimed the lives of 1,021 people in 2020”, in reference to the law on which the United States relies to impose the new sanctions against the authorities of the island, which are in addition to the more than 200 imposed by the government of Republican Donald Trump.

Faced with the new measures against the island, the Cuban diplomat criticized the US government for its humanitarian double-talk and the Biden administration’s unwillingness to eliminate the economic blockade as well as other pressure measures that affect Cuban society, especially the elimination of the limit and limitations on remittances, the reactivation of family reunification visas and trips to the island. The White House of Donald trump (2017-2021) in November last year banned sending remittances to Cuba, a move with which the United States quickly increased economic drowning on the island and which Biden is keeping intact after six months in power . “If the United States Government cared about the welfare of the Cuban people, it would end the blockade with which it is trying to suffocate us, the illegal acts of interference in the internal affairs of Cuba and the disinformation campaigns aimed at justify its aggressive measures with lies, “assured the Chancellor in a statement.

Rodríguez later spoke at a press conference where he dismissed accusations by Joe Biden’s government while demanding proof of the allegations made by the U.S. administration. “Lists of missing persons have been published, here I declare that they are absolutely false and I reject that there is only one case”said the diplomat. “I urge those who have referred to it to present names, places, evidence”added.

Regarding the White House accusations on Internet access on the island, Rodríguez assured that “The main obstacle to the connectivity of Cuban citizens to the Internet is the blockade of Cuba by the United States, it is the extreme manipulation of digital networks”.

The foreign minister also spoke about the Biden government’s accusations regarding the remittances. “The US government shamelessly lies. when he says that the Cuban government appropriates part of the remittances. Remittances are not taxed, there are no taxes, there are no tariffs. Who sets a service commission is not the Cuban government, it is the Western Union company“said Rodríguez, who reiterated the demand for evidence on these charges.