Overview

• The State Department barred entry to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Defense Minister Álvaro López Miera and Interior Minister Álvaro Álvarez Casas under new visa restrictions.
• Eleven Cuban sites, including Havana’s 42-story Torre K hotel, were added to a restricted list to prevent U.S. dollars from financing the regime’s repression.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Cuban authorities of torturing dissident José Daniel Ferrer and demanded immediate proof of life and the release of roughly 700 political prisoners.
• Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the sanctions as a ruthless economic war that cannot break the will of the Cuban people or their leaders.
• The escalation coincided with the fourth anniversary of the July 2021 protests, which saw mass arrests, reported abuses and at least one death.