US Sanctions Cuban President, Escalates Pressure on Communist Leadership

(CNA Washington, D.C., comprehensive foreign report) The U.S. Treasury Department website showed that the United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and some related individuals and entities. According to Reuters, the Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions. The sanctions also targeted four other individuals and five entities, including the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Diaz-Canel, 66, succeeded Raul Castro as President of Cuba in 2018. Raul Castro is the brother of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Thursday's action against Diaz-Canel is the latest measure by Washington to escalate pressure on Cuba's communist leadership. The sanctions were announced as U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. wants Cuba to "become a well-governed country." Last month, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the country's Minister of Communications, several military leaders, and the main intelligence agency. The U.S. has also accused Raul Castro of murder for his alleged involvement in the 1996 downing of a plane operated by a Cuban exile group by Cuban fighter jets.