WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday escalated its economic campaign against Cuba, sanctioning China-based suppliers accused of arming Havana’s military and clearing the way for broader hits on key sectors of the island’s economy.
In a State Department statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced designations of eight entities and two individuals under President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14404, plus five associated vessels as blocked property. The targets include Cuban elites, a crude oil shipping network, state-owned import and technical-support entities, and Chinese firms tied to Cuba’s armed forces.
Among the China-based targets are China National Electronic Import and Export Company (CEIEC) and Beijing H&C Technologies Co., Ltd. According to a State Department fact sheet, both worked with Cuban arms procurement company Sociedad Mercantil Duna S.A., already designated in August, to export military-related components and equipment to Cuba in 2026. CEIEC contracted to supply parts intended for equipment used by Cuba’s Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces. Beijing H&C, a subsidiary of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation International, sells surveillance and security gear and likewise routed military equipment through Duna.
Treasury also published a determination under E.O. 14404 authorizing sanctions on any foreign person operating in Cuba’s electronics, manufacturing, marine, and technology sectors. The personal designations include Guillermo Faustino Rodriguez Lopez Calleja, tied to an offshore network moving Cuban crude oil, and Any Rodriguez Lastres, daughter of previously designated GAESA President Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.
“Cuba’s ruling elite is hoarding the island’s energy, shipping, and technology resources for its own enrichment, leaving the Cuban people to contend with blackouts, shortages, and a stagnant economy,” Rubio said. He added that the regime’s foreign backers supply military equipment that sustains its forces and enables repression, while Cuba serves as a staging ground for hostile actors plotting against the United States.
Property and interests of the designated persons in the United States, or under U.S. persons’ control, are blocked. Thursday’s action is an implementation and expansion under E.O. 14404, which President Trump signed on May 1, 2026, along with E.O. 14380 and National Security Presidential Memorandum 5. Those directives call on the administration to pressure Havana over repression and threats to U.S. national security.
