US diplomat Rubio targets Cuban military officials, companies in sanctions

Marco Rubio, the top diplomat for the United States, has announced sanctions against five Cuban companies and eight individuals accused of helping the island procure military equipment for its armed forces.

In a social media post on Thursday, Rubio used the sanctions to renew President Donald Trump’s threats against the Cuban government, which he characterised as a danger to US national security.

“The Cuban Communist regime is a state sponsor of terrorism that spies on America, arms violent left-wing radicals, spreads poisonous Marxist ideology, and serves as a staging ground for Russia, China & Iran just 90 miles from our shores,” Rubio wrote.

“As President Trump has said: the United States will not tolerate a rogue state harboring hostile military, intelligence & terror operations on our doorstep.”

The announcement is part of a trend of increasing sanctions on Cuba, an island in the Caribbean Sea long locked in a decades-long conflict with the US over clashing political and economic ideologies.

Trump, however, has tightened US restrictions on the island since returning to office for a second term as president in 2025, as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.

He also reinstated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, a label he first applied in 2021, during the final month of his first term.

Since January, Trump has suggested he could take military action against Cuba. That, in turn, has prompted reports to emerge indicating that the island has bolstered its defences, including by purchasing drones.