At the beginning of May, Trump signed Executive Order 14404, imposing yet another host of sanctions on Cuba, in addition to the existing oil blockade. The Executive Order is titled “Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to United States National Security and Foreign Policy,” and significantly expands the U.S. sanctions regime against Cuba.
The Executive Order authorized the blocking of all property and interests in property of foreign persons determined by the U.S. Government to meet a set of criteria. The criteria are broad and seem to allow for sweeping inclusions of many sectors of the Cuban economy.
On May 7, 2026, the Department of State announced its designations under the Executive Order, which include organizations across Cuba’s energy, defense, mining, security, and financial services sectors. The list features Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA (GAESA), a conglomerate controlled by the country’s military with ties to nearly all segments of its economy. They also target other key parts of the Cuban economy, including Sherritt International Corp and Cuba’s state-owned nickel company.
The implications of these sanctions will be a further squeeze on the existing humanitarian crisis in Cuba and an acceleration of Trump’s stated goal of increasing instability in the country. In March, Trump said, “I built this great military. I said, ‘You’ll never have to use it.’ But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next.”
We must say “NOT IN OUR NAME” to the humanitarian crisis in Cuba manufactured by the United States, which has resulted in the collapse of the island’s healthcare infrastructure, medicine and fuel shortages, blackouts, and more. We stand for the self determination of the world’s people, not sanctions and military intervention.
