US imposes sanctions on Cuban president, Treasury website shows

WASHINGTON - The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and some affiliated people and entities, the U.S. Treasury Department’s website showed. 

The sanctions also targeted four other people and five entities, including Diaz-Canel’s wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, two members of the Castro family, and the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions.

Diaz-Canel, 66, has served as president of the Caribbean country since taking over from Raúl Castro, the brother of Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro, in 2018.

Thursday’s action against Diaz-Canel is the latest by Washington to intensify pressure on the island’s communist leaders.

The sanctions were announced as President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. wanted Cuba “to be a nicely run country.”

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the sanctions “despicable” in a post on social media, describing them as the latest example of U.S. interventionism.

“Every U.S. action aimed at creating a scenario of conflict between the two countries is doomed to failure,” Rodriguez said.

Last month, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the country’s communications minister, several military leaders and its main intelligence agency. 

The U.S. also charged Raúl Castro with murder for his alleged involvement in a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.

In related news, Visa and Mastercard payments are to be suspended in Cuba after a foreign bank that processes the transactions on the island decided to end its relationship with a Cuban state financial services company, the country’s central bank said on Wednesday.

The bank, which was not identified, will stop working with Fincimex, the Cuban entity that handles the card transactions, from Saturday, the central bank said.

The move follows new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on the Cuban military-linked conglomerate GAESA, of which Fincimex is part. Under the measures, foreign banks and companies that continue doing business with the group could face U.S. sanctions starting Friday.

Four hotel operators from Spain, Canada and Indonesia have already announced plans to withdraw from properties they jointly managed with the conglomerate.

Cuba’s central bank blamed Washington’s policy towards the island for the decision, saying the foreign bank had informed Fincimex that it could no longer legally comply with its agreements once the sanctions take effect.

Foreign-currency payments in Cuba will now be limited to cash, domestic prepaid cards and payment cards issued by Russia’s Mir and China’s UnionPay.

German press agency dpa contributed to this report.

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 3:46 PM.