U.S. sanctions Cuban president on anniversary of 2021 protests

Saturday 12 July 2025 - 09:04

On Friday, the United States imposed new sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, marking the fourth anniversary of the unprecedented anti-government protests that erupted across the island in July 2021. The move is part of a broader escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against the Cuban regime.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on social media that Díaz-Canel had been sanctioned “for his role in the regime’s brutality against the Cuban people.” The president, who also heads Cuba’s Communist Party, is now subject to visa restrictions, effectively barring him from entering U.S. territory.

On July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in protest, demanding greater freedoms and improved living conditions. The protests—considered the largest since the 1959 Cuban Revolution—resulted in one death, dozens of injuries, and the arrest of hundreds. That same day, Díaz-Canel appeared on national television urging government supporters to “fight” back, a call that escalated tensions and confrontations.

The Biden administration had removed Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in early 2025, but the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January led to a swift reversal of that decision. In late June, President Trump signed a memorandum reinforcing a "maximum pressure" policy on the island, which has been under U.S. economic embargo since 1962.

Friday’s sanctions are part of implementing that strategy. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it was taking steps “in solidarity with the Cuban people and the island’s political prisoners,” by restricting entry to “senior regime officials” involved in “serious human rights violations.”

Alongside Díaz-Canel, Cuba’s Defense Minister Álvaro López Miera and Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas were also sanctioned. In addition, U.S. authorities announced visa bans for numerous Cuban judicial and prison officials accused of involvement in the arbitrary detention and torture of July 2021 protesters. The full list of sanctioned individuals was not disclosed.

In response, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez condemned the measures, posting on social media: “The United States can impose migration sanctions on revolutionary leaders and continue a ruthless economic war against Cuba, but it cannot break the will of our people or its leadership.”

According to U.S. officials, around 700 people remain imprisoned for their roles in the 2021 demonstrations, although human rights organizations estimate the number to be between 360 and 420. Several prisoners have been released in recent months, including as part of a Vatican-brokered agreement earlier this year. That deal, originally initiated during Biden’s presidency, allowed for the release of 553 inmates, mostly political prisoners, although common criminals were also freed. The agreement was later revoked under Trump.

One high-profile case is that of Cuban dissident José Daniel Ferrer, who was re-arrested in April after his conditional release was overturned. Rubio accused the Cuban government of torturing Ferrer and demanded “immediate proof of life.” Ferrer’s sister, Ana Belkis Ferrer, who lives in the U.S., claimed on social media that he is being subjected to extreme abuse. His wife reportedly visited him in prison on July 8.

As part of the new sanctions, the U.S. also added a newly built 42-story state-run hotel in Havana to the list of locations where Americans are barred from spending money. The State Department said the measure was intended to prevent U.S. dollars from “funding the repression of the Cuban regime.”

These latest actions highlight the deepening divide between Washington and Havana, reigniting a long-standing geopolitical standoff that continues to shape the lives of ordinary Cubans and political dissidents alike.