Cuba faces new U.S. sanctions as China urges lift of blockade

The United States imposed sanctions on June 23 on five Cuban entities, including three linked to the powerful Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) and a member of the extended Castro family. The State Department said the measures target groups it considers responsible for repression and threats to U.S. security, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing GAESA as “the financial muscle behind the Cuban regime’s repressive security apparatus.”

Just days earlier, Cuba announced an unprecedented package of market‑oriented reforms, allowing foreign investors to partner directly with large private Cuban enterprises and expanding private‑sector participation in the economy.

China’s foreign ministry responded, with spokesperson Guo Jiakun calling the U.S. sanctions and oil blockade “coercive, without basis in international law” and urging Washington to “stop at once its blockade and all forms of coercion.” The Chinese statement expressed support for Cuba’s sovereign development path and condemned the U.S. actions as collective punishment.