US hits 9 Cuban firms, officials with new sanctions package
Why it matters: The measures deepen pressure on Cuba's cash-starved economy as blackouts and rare protests strain the government.
The United States imposed a new round of sanctions on Cuban officials and companies, targeting nine state-owned mining, metal and construction firms, Cuba's Ministry of Construction and leaders of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the institute of helping bring foreign sympathizers to Havana around the 100th anniversary of Fidel Castro's birth. Among those sanctioned is ICAP president Fernando Gonzalez Llort, a member of the Cuban 5 spy ring later freed in a prisoner exchange during the Obama-era thaw. Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, condemned the move, saying it would further damage an economy already under severe strain from US pressure and fuel shortages.