The White House under Trumpsanctioned the Cuban state oil company, Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), as announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his social media this Thursday.
The action freezes any assets of the company in the US and generally prohibits Americans from conducting transactions with it. This ban adds to the long list of sanctions that Washington has imposed on the communist leaders of Cuba and their businesses.
This punishment, moreover, coincides with the national emergency declaration by the Trump administration regarding the island this year, which imposes tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the Castro regime that has caused frequent blackouts in the territory.
The regime's oil company joins the list of those sanctioned by the US
Total pressure
As new sanctions against the island's energy sector were being prepared, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned Cuba not to attempt to acquire weapons that could attack the United States, reiterating that such a move would provoke a confrontation that Havana could not withstand.
"It would be reckless for the Cuban government to attempt to acquire or have access to the kind of weapons that can reach this base or US territory", Hegseth stated from the naval station at Guantanamo Bay. "They would be provoking the kind of confrontation that not only do they not want, but that they could not endure".
"No country on Earth can match the capabilities of the United States of America. We do not seek enemies. We do not seek adversaries. We are a great friend and hope that soon we can be friends with the leaders of the Cuban government", the official added.
Hegseth's visit to Guantanamo Bay and his speech to the soldiers is the most recent high-profile trip by a senior US official to the communist island. Marine Corps General Francis Donovan, head of US Southern Command, visited the base late last month to hold talks with a high-ranking Cuban general. CIA Director John Ratcliffe also visited the island last month.
