Reuters.- The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the Cuban police force and two of its leaders in response to the Havana government’s crackdown on protesters, and President Joe Biden promised Cuban-American leaders that further action would be taken.
The US Treasury Department said the sanctions, which appeared to be largely symbolic, were a reaction to “actions to suppress the peaceful and pro-democracy protests in Cuba that began on July 11.”
The targets of the sanctions are two leaders of the Cuban National Revolutionary Police, the Treasury Department said.
“There will be more, unless there is some drastic change in Cuba, which I do not anticipate,” Biden said during a meeting with Cuban-American leaders at the White House.
Their meeting came as the politically important community called for more support for the protests in Cuba, which represent the largest anti-government demonstration on the island led by communists in decades.
“The United States is taking concerted action to advance the cause of the Cuban people,” Biden said.
Biden also said that he ordered the Treasury and State departments to inform him within a month on how to allow Americans to send remittances to Cubans without the Havana government benefiting.
The protests erupted this month amid Cuba’s worst economic crisis since the fall of its former ally Soviet Union and a record surge in coronavirus infections. Thousands took to the streets, angered by shortages of basic goods, restrictions on civil liberties and the authorities’ handling of the pandemic.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has blamed the unrest on the United States, which in recent years has tightened its decades-long trade embargo on the island. He has said that many protesters were sincere but manipulated by Washington-orchestrated social media campaigns.
Last week, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against the Cuban Defense Minister and a special forces unit of the Interior Ministry, over allegations of human rights abuses in the crackdown that followed the protests, in which hundreds of activists were arrested.
Follow the information about business and current affairs in Forbes Mexico
Participants in Friday’s meeting included Yotuel Romero, hip hop musician and author of “Patria y Vida,” a song that has become the protesters’ anthem; Ana Sofía Peláez, founder of the Miami Freedom Project; and former Miami Mayor Manny Díaz.
Florida’s 1.5 million Cuban-Americans voted strongly for Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Regaining their support is crucial for Biden’s Democratic Party to seize a decisive state in the 2024 election.
Follow us on Google News to keep you always informed
Biden evaluates options to facilitate Internet access for Cubans
Biden also said this Friday that his government is evaluating “all available options” to provide the Cuban people with access to the Internet and help them “circumvent” censorship.
Biden indicated that, in addition to sanctions, they want to increase “direct” support to the Cuban people, seeking “all available options to facilitate internet access.”