After last week’s Congressional vote to curb Trump’s attacks on Cuba failed 51-47, the President has imposed new, vague sanctions on the country. They target anyone who supports the Cuban government, its security forces, or its alleged human rights abuses, based on the grounds that Cuba poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. What counts as support to the government? It’s hard to tell. More predictably, however, the White House has accused Cuba of providing “safe haven for transnational terrorist groups” such as Hezbollah, even though there is no evidence to support such a claim. The point of the sanctions appears to be pressure, something the island already feels plenty of, having been strangled by U.S.-created fuel shortages and blackouts. Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, called the sanctions “collective punishment,” while Trump once again floated the prospect of military action, quipping that he’ll have a military vessel stop by Cuba on its way back from Iran.
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