US hits Cuba with new sanctions as island’s crises multiply

HAVANA (AP) – The U.S. Administration on Thursday slapped new sanctions on Cuba in a fresh push to strangle the island's economy and deepen its multiple crises.

Key points

• Among those hit with sanctions are Fidel Ernesto Castro, grandson of former President Raúl Castro, and Cuba's Oil Industry Supply Import Firm, known as Abapet.
• The Trump administration seems to have no seriousness to accept any change from Cuba other than a toppling of regime.
• Is trying to really tighten the screws as much as possible, he remarked.

Among those hit with sanctions are Fidel Ernesto Castro, grandson of former President Raúl Castro, and Cuba's Oil Industry Supply Import Firm, known as Abapet. The firm is responsible for importing special equipment and spare parts needed to sustain Cuba's crumbling power grid.

For context, the sanctions aim to push Cuba's critical machinery offline and exacerbate its energy crisis, remarked Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert and managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, a consulting firm.

"The U.S. Is trying to really tighten the screws as much as possible, " he remarked.

"The Trump administration seems to have no seriousness to accept any change from Cuba other than a toppling of regime. Marco is not going to let that go, " he continued, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Taken together, the developments around US hits Cuba with new sanctions as islands crises multiply point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.