HAVANA – The US authorities introduced Friday it was sanctioning Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and different prime officers for human rights violations and limiting entry to visas on the anniversary of the biggest protests on the island in current a long time.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned on social media platform X that the State Division additionally would impose visa restrictions on Cuban judicial and jail officers “liable for, or complicit in, the unjust detention and torture of the July 2021 protesters.”
The protests, which weren’t led by an opposition group, developed July 11 and 12, 2021, drawing consideration to the depths of Cuba’s economic crisis.
“The U.S. will proceed to face for the human rights and basic freedoms of the individuals of Cuba, and clarify no illegitimate, dictatorial regimes are welcome in our hemisphere,” Rubio mentioned within the assertion.
The Trump administration has taken a more durable line in opposition to Cuba’s authorities than the Biden administration.
Along with Díaz-Canel, the U.S. sanctioned Cuban Protection Minister Álvaro López Miera and Inside Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas.
Shortly after the announcement, Johana Tablada, deputy director of the U.S. division within the Cuban International Ministry, lashed out at Rubio, calling him a “defender of genocide, prisons and mass deportations.”
The uncommon protests in 2021 took place after repeated blackouts in Havana and different cities. One man died and a few marches resulted in vandalism.
Teams supporting the federal government responded together with authorities to repress the protests. Human rights teams estimated there have been greater than 1,000 arrests however the authorities gave no official figures.
On the time, the Cuban authorities mentioned it was the results of a U.S. media campaign and a long time of U.S. sanctions.
In 2022, Cuban prosecutors mentioned some 790 individuals have been investigated for acts associated to the protests starting from dysfunction to sabotage and vandalism.
The advocacy group 11J, whose title alludes to the protests, mentioned late final yr there have been 554 individuals serving sentences associated to the protests, however some got conditional launch in January after an appeal from Pope Francis.
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