The US government announced that it is imposing sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other senior officials for human rights abuses and restricting access to visas on the anniversary of the largest protests on the island in decades, the Associated Press reported.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the social media platform "Ex" that his department would also impose visa restrictions on Cuban judicial and prison officials "responsible for or complicit in the unjust detention and torture of protesters since 2021".
The protests, which were not led by an opposition group, broke out on July 11 and 12, 2021, drawing attention to the depth of economic crisis in Cuba, the AP recalls.
"The United States will continue to defend the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Cuban people and will make it clear that illegitimate, dictatorial regimes are not welcome in our hemisphere," Rubio's statement said.
The Trump administration has taken a tougher stance on the Cuban government than the Biden administration, the AP points out.
In addition to Diaz-Canel, the United States imposed sanctions on Cuban Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lázaro Alvarez Casas.
Shortly after the announcement, Johanna Tablada, deputy director of the American department at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, lashed out at Rubio, calling him "a defender of genocide, prisons and mass executions" deportations“.