U.S. State Department expands Cuba sanctions against security bodies and officials

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Expanded Cuba sanctions by US

Highlights

U.S. State Department imposes new sanctions on Cuba’s Ministry of Interior, Policia Nacional Revolucionaria, and Directorate of Intelligence under Executive Order 14404, effective May 1, 2026.
Eleven Cuban officials, including Justice Minister Rosabel Gamon Verde and National Assembly President Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez, face asset freezes and transaction bans from U.S. persons and entities.
Foreign counterparties risk secondary sanctions if they transact with newly designated persons or operate in Cuban energy, defense, mining, financial, or security sectors per expanded U.S. restrictions.

New designations under Executive Order 14404

As reported by the U.S. Department of State, the latest action places sanctions on Cuba’s Ministry of Interior, the Policia Nacional Revolucionaria and the Directorate of Intelligence of Cuba under Executive Order 14404, which took effect on May 1, 2026. Washington says the order authorizes penalties against people and bodies linked to repression in Cuba and to threats against U.S. national security and foreign policy.

The State Department also designates 11 officials and regime-aligned figures, including Justice Minister Rosabel Gamon Verde, Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy, Communications Minister Mayra Arevich Marin and National Assembly President Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez. Others named include military and security officials such as Joaquin Quintas Sola, Jose Miguel Gomez del Vallin, Raul Villar Kessell and Eugenio Armando Rabilero Aguilera, along with Communist Party official Roberto Tomas Morales Ojeda.

The department says some of the steps build on earlier sanctions under Executive Order 13818, including prior designations involving the Cuban interior ministry, the national police, Eddy Manuel Sierra Arias and Oscar Alejandro Callejas Valcarce. The administration frames the move as part of a broader effort to hold accountable those who provide material or financial support to the Cuban government.

Compliance risks for U.S. and foreign counterparties

The sanctions block all property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the U.S. or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, with such holdings required to be reported to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Entities owned 50% or more, individually or in aggregate, by one or more blocked persons are also blocked under the action.

Transactions by U.S. persons, or by people within or transiting the U.S., involving blocked property are prohibited unless authorized or exempt. The restrictions also cover contributions or provision of funds, goods or services to or from sanctioned parties.

Foreign persons face potential exposure as well if they transact with people designated under Executive Order 14404 or operate in Cuban energy, defense and related materiel, metals and mining, financial services, or security sectors identified in the order. The State Department says non-U.S. individuals and financial institutions should act cautiously, while reiterating that sanctions policy is intended to drive behavioral change rather than serve only as punishment.

Our earlier coverage of Executive Order 14404 sanctions explained how Washington designated 11 Cuban regime-linked officials and three state organizations as part of a broader pressure campaign tied to U.S. national security and foreign policy goals. We noted the measures were framed as targeting security-connected actors accused of repression, while also aligning with other U.S. policy directives aimed at increasing accountability and restricting access to assets.

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