Trump expands U.S. sanctions on Cuba with new order
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday broadening U.S. sanctions against cuba, tightening pressure on people, entities and affiliates tied to the Cuban government's security apparatus. The order also reaches agents, officials and supporters linked to the government, and it adds secondary sanctions for transactions with those targeted.
For companies, banks and intermediaries outside Cuba, the new step raises the risk of being swept into U.S. penalties if they conduct or facilitate covered transactions. The order leaves the immediate list of targeted people and entities unresolved, but it gives Washington a broader tool to punish dealings it links to Havana's security and political networks.
Security ties and secondary sanctions
The order signals a wider U.S. attempt to isolate the Cuban government's support base, not just officials in office. It targets people, entities and affiliates that support the Cuban government's security apparatus or are complicit in corruption or serious human rights violations, and it also covers agents, officials or supporters of the Cuban government.
Trump's order carried an implicit warning to Cuba that the government has aligned itself with Iran and militant groups like Hezbollah. A White House official said, 'Cuba provides a permissive environment for hostile foreign intelligence, military, and terrorist operations less than 100 miles from the American homeland.' That language places the island inside a broader U.S. security frame rather than a narrow sanctions dispute.
Washington pressure on Havana
The United States has long demanded that Cuba open its state-run economy, pay reparations for properties expropriated by Fidel Castro's government and hold free and fair elections. Cuba has said its form of socialist government is not up for negotiation, leaving the two governments far apart on the basic terms of any thaw.
The Trump administration has also already moved against Cuba's fuel lifeline. The United States halted Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba on Jan. 3 after ousting Nicolas Maduro, and Trump later threatened punishing tariffs on any other country that sent crude to Cuba. Mexico then stopped shipments of crude to Cuba after the tariff threat.
Fuel shortages in Cuba
Those energy curbs have fed a broader strain inside Cuba. Fuel shortages contributed to three major, national-level blackouts and prompted many foreign airlines to suspend flights to the island, leaving the sanctions campaign tied to daily disruptions as well as diplomatic pressure.
Friday's executive order adds a new enforcement layer to that campaign, but the immediate question is who Washington will name under it and which foreign transactions it will treat as punishable. That will determine whether the order stays a political warning or becomes a practical risk for firms and governments that still do business connected to Cuba.
