US extends suspension of export restrictions on Chinese firms

Washington has imposed stringent sanctions and an oil embargo on Cuba, resulting in widespread power outages and shortages of vital products. The US announced these sanctions on Thursday, targeting Cuba's oil and electronics industries, as well as a relative of the leader of Cuba's largest military-oriented business group. For the first time, two Chinese corporations are included in the sanctions, alleged to have supplied Cuba's military with electronics and other security gear.

The state department underscored that Cuba's ruling class monopolizes the island's energy and shipping assets for personal gain, leaving the Cuban populace grappling with blackouts, fuel scarcity, and a stagnant economy.

Since January, the United States has enacted a series of harsh sanctions and an oil blockade against Cuba, severely debilitating the island nation's economy and triggering extensive blackouts and shortages of necessities. President Donald Trump has alluded to launching a military intervention to overthrow Cuba's Communist ruling party, and the US Secretary of State previously urged Cubans to cooperate with US intelligence agencies.

Among the entities sanctioned on Thursday were Cyprus-registered Caroil, operating three oil tankers, and Panama-registered Tentacool. Additionally, Any Rodriguez Lastres, daughter of the already-designated head of Grupo De Administracion Empresarial SA (GAESA), a military conglomerate, was added to the sanctions list. GAESA, Cuba's biggest business conglomerate with interests in every sector of the nation's economy, was already sanctioned in May of this year.

The new sanctions also encompassed two Cuban state-owned companies, CubaElectronica and Tecnosime. The Chinese entities sanctioned on Thursday are state-owned China National Electronic Import and Export Company (CEIEC) and private firm Beijing H&C Technologies.