MIAMI, United States.- The United States Department of State announced this Tuesday new sanctions against five officials of the Cuban regime who would have participated in the repression of the anti-government demonstrations on July 11, 2021 (11J).
According to one note published on the website of the US Embassy in Havana, the sanctions (visa restriction) were adopted in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 5377, which suspends the entry of officials and employees of the Cuban Government to the United States as non-immigrants.
“These five officials are linked to the unjust trials, sentences and imprisonment of people who demonstrated peacefully on July 11, 2021,” says the statement, which does not reveal the identity of the Castro officials.
“This announcement of visa restrictions responds to the actions of Cuban government officials who deny Cubans basic human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the document adds.
The United States Department of State explained that “the measures are based on previous initiatives aimed at promoting the accountability of Cuban officials who allow human rights abuses and government repression, including four Treasury Department sanctions. in force as of July 11 and the announcements of steps aimed at imposing visa restrictions made by the Department of State on November 30, 2021 and January 6, 2022”.
These new sanctions “underline our commitment to support the Cuban people,” the agency said.
Last July, the State Department had announced visa restrictions 28 other officials of the Cuban regime, also linked to the repression unleashed by the government against 11J protesters.
Those sanctioned included “high-ranking members of the PCC responsible for establishing policies at the national and provincial levels,” who, “instead of guaranteeing the security of the Cuban people and respect for their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly (…) allowed or facilitated violent and unjust arrests, sham trials and decades-long prison sentences for hundreds of protesters.”
“Multiple officials who work in the state media and communications sectors who formulate and implement policies that restrict the ability of Cubans to freely access and share information and who participate in the spread of disinformation are also covered,” the statement read at the time.
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