US sanctions target Cuban military entities, officials

The United States targeted a new group of Cuban military entities and defence officials on Thursday, expanding a campaign aimed at Havana's military and its economic networks.

The measures include affiliates of GAESA, a military-controlled conglomerate founded by Raul Castro in 1995. Analysts estimate GAESA controls 40 to 70 percent of Cuba's economy, with as much as $18 billion in assets across tourism, retail, logistics, finance and port services.

The latest sanctions target Tecnoimport, which the US State Department says imports technical products, including military equipment, for Cuba's Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Washington also accuses Tecnoimport of procuring military-related goods from Russia and China.

Another GAESA affiliate, Tecnotex, was designated for allegedly taking part in efforts to refurbish Cuba's Russian-made helicopters and for alleged previous cooperation with North Korea.

The sanctions also reach senior Cuban military figures, including Defence Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and General Staff Chief Roberto Legra Sotolongo. Washington also targeted Jose Antonio Remon Rodriguez, head of the ministry's foreign relations directorate, and Oscar Enrique Biosca Gallego, who oversees economic affairs within the ministry.

Cuba's military attaches in Moscow and Beijing, Monica Milian Gomez and Waldo Perez Cortes, were also targeted. The State Department says they have been involved in military procurement and defence cooperation with Russia and China.

The new measures also target entities involved in producing, maintaining and modernising military equipment. They include the Union de Industria Militar, which Washington says has worked with Russian defence entities to modernise Soviet-era weapons systems, and Empresa Militar Industrial Yuri Gagarin, which repairs military helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.