US Imposes New Economic Sanctions on Cuba Targeting Key Mining and Construction Sectors

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has adopted a hawkish stance toward Cuba, a socialist state, as the United States intensifies its economic pressure with a fresh round of sanctions aimed at nine state-owned mining, metal, and construction companies.

A notice published on the US Treasury Department’s website on Thursday revealed that Cuba’s Ministry of Construction of Cuba is among the sanctioned entities, alongside government-controlled import companies and mineral extraction enterprises such as the mining group GEOMINSAL. Cuba possesses substantial deposits of cobalt and nickel.

In addition to these nine entities, three leaders at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), a state organization established to manage international relations, were also penalized. US President Donald Trump’s administration characterized the targeted groups and individuals as national security threats in a statement authored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio, a long-standing advocate for government change in Cuba, accused the construction and mining firms of helping to sustain the regime's repressive apparatus. He also criticized ICAP for orchestrating what he described as a subversive network of international sympathizers to support Cuba’s government.

“The Trump Administration will not stand by while a hostile foreign power seeks to exploit our freedoms — none of which are afforded to its people — by misleading and corrupting American citizens with lies, spy tradecraft, and other malfeasance,” Rubio wrote, adding that ICAP activities assist Cuba in exporting Marxism, racial resentment, and Communist violence globally.

While Washington has historically sought to isolate Cuba over political differences, the Trump administration has aggressively pursued a maximum pressure campaign aimed at toppling the island's government. Following a military operation to abduct and imprison Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, President Donald Trump shifted his focus to Cuba, located approximately 145 kilometres or 90 miles from Florida.

Ruled as a socialist state under the one-party system of the Communist Party of Cuba since the mid-20th century, the island may soon face further action. President Donald Trump indicated earlier this year that once the US-Israeli war against Iran concludes, Cuba is next for regime change, floating possibilities such as a friendly takeover and conducting negotiations with Cuban officials.

To heighten pressure on the administration of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the US has implemented severe measures intended to destabilize the economy, including a de facto fuel blockade initiated in January. President Donald Trump cut off Venezuelan oil supplies to Cuba and threatened tariffs on any nation exporting fuel to the island, resulting in only one oil tanker from Russia docking there since.

An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May authorized broad sanctions against those responsible for repression in Cuba, serving as the justification for Thursday's economic penalties. This ongoing pressure campaign has caused energy blackouts and severe shortages of critical goods like medicine, prompting United Nations officials to warn of a potential humanitarian crisis.

In March, UN experts characterized the fuel blockade as an illegal form of energy starvation. Furthermore, UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk highlighted rising infant mortality rates and declining survival rates among children with cancer, attributing these adverse health outcomes to the growing restrictions.

“The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable,” Volker Turk stated, demanding that the sanctions be lifted immediately. Nevertheless, the Trump administration maintains that Cuba represents a national security threat that necessitates these strict measures.