President Donald Trump signed an executive order broadening U.S. sanctions on the Cuban government, authorizing the Treasury to block the assets of Cuban officials and their adult family members, bar them from entering the United States, and penalize foreign banks that handle their transactions.
The order extends a national emergency that Trump declared in January and is designed to cut Havana's access to the global financial system as the administration intensifies pressure on the island during a deepening economic crisis.
The order, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, allows asset blocks on individuals and entities involved in Cuba's key economic sectors, government leaders, security affiliates, and those responsible for serious human rights abuses or corruption connected to the regime.
It extends to adult family members of designees and suspends their entry into the United States.
The order also authorizes the Treasury to block U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts of foreign banks that conduct or facilitate significant transactions for any sanctioned person, a measure intended to deter overseas financial institutions from clearing dollar transactions tied to designated Cuban entities, including the Central Bank of Cuba.
The action builds on Executive Order 14380, signed Jan. 29, which declared a national emergency over what the White House called an "unusual and extraordinary threat" from the Cuban government and established a separate tariff mechanism targeting countries supplying oil to the island.
The earlier order took effect Jan. 30.
A White House fact sheet said Friday's order would hold the Cuban regime "accountable for its support of hostile actors, terrorism, and regional instability."
It did not name the first targets.
Two White House officials told Reuters that designations would be issued under the order but were not immediately disclosed.
The sanctions arrive amid fuel shortages, repeated nationwide blackouts and suspended foreign flights to the island.
The U.S. halted Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba in January after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and Mexico, which had become Cuba's primary supplier, stopped shipments after Trump threatened tariffs on countries selling oil to the island.
Trump has openly mused about regime change.
On March 16, he told reporters in the Oval Office, "Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth."
Talks between the two governments have continued.
In an interview taped April 9 in Havana and aired April 12 on NBC's "Meet the Press," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel told Kristen Welker, "I think dialogue and deals with the U.S. government are possible, but they're difficult," and refused U.S. demands tied to Cuba's political system.
The order's bite will turn on which officials and institutions the Treasury designates, and on whether foreign banks treat the secondary sanctions risk as a reason to sever ties with Cuban entities.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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