US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Photo: AP / Andrew Medichini)
The United States announced today a new measure to tighten the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba , by sanctioning a company that participates in sending remittances to the Caribbean island.
The Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said this Monday through a tweet that the sanction against the Cuban remittance company American International Services (AIS) will take effect as of this Tuesday, September 29.
The action adds to Washington’s unilateral siege against the Antillean nation, repudiated by the international community.
Pompeo justified the inclusion of AIS in the List of Restrictions on Cuba, on the pretext that it is a company under the supposed control of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the island.
According to the official, US citizens and companies are prohibited from conducting financial transactions with these companies.
Fincimex was included in the list of restricted companies in June, and as a result the French bank Credit Mutuel paralyzed services to that entity, which affected the sending of remittances in dollars.
The United States government put into effect on September 24 other measures designed to intensify unilateral sanctions against Cuba despite international rejection of this unilateral siege.
On that occasion, the Treasury Department issued regulations that prohibited imports of rum and tobacco, as well as the lodging of North Americans in hotels or properties controlled by the Cuban government , state officials or the Communist Party and their close relatives.
The announcement of the measures took place shortly after President Donald Trump thanked the leaders of the mercenary brigade that suffered a crushing defeat in Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs) in April 1961 for the support for the November 3 elections. .
This group participated in the invasion against the Caribbean island with the material and financial support of the John F. Kennedy government, destined to overthrow the nascent Cuban Revolution that triumphed on January 1, 1959.
The Treasury Department also eliminated by means of this document a general authorization policy for the participation or organization of conferences, seminars, exhibitions and sporting events in Cuba.
As of this date, citizens, residents and companies subject to US law must request a specific authorization or license for these activities.
In addition, Americans traveling to Cuba will not be able to buy rum or tobacco as souvenirs, nor will they be able to stay in hotels, according to the aforementioned restrictions.
The most recent bans reported by Pompeo, like those that began to be implemented on September 24, take effect a few weeks before the general elections on November 3. Experts on the subject interpret them as part of the Trump campaign, at a time when Florida, where a good part of the Cuban-American far-right figures reside, constitutes one of the key states for said elections.
(With information from PL)