WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump expanded sanctions on Cuba as he continues to threaten the communist-run Caribbean nation with military action after ousting Venezuela's leader from power.
Trump signed an executive order May 1 imposing new sanctions on individuals and entities that support Cuba's government and security apparatus and are complicit in "government corruption or serious human rights violations." The order also singles out people, banks and organizations that have made transactions with those targeted in the order.
The names of the individuals and entities hit with the sanctions were not immediately clear. Details of the sanctions were also unclear.
Trump has repeatedly said Cuba is on the verge of collapse and hinted at U.S. intervention following his administration's January military operation in Venezuela in which the United States captured the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, and charged him with narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking and weapons crimes.
In the order, Trump accused Cuba of aligning itself with countries and actors hostile to the United States including hosting "foreign adversary facilities focused on targeting and exploiting sensitive national security information from the United States." The order states that Cuba has maintained "close ties" with major state sponsors of terrorism ‒ singling out Iran ‒ and provided safe haven for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.
