US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at the State Department in Washington. (Mandel Ngan / Pool via AP)
AP
WASHINGTON
The government of President Joe Biden imposed travel restrictions on eight Cuban officials who, it says, have been complicit in the repression of opposition protesters and other dissidents.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the visa restrictions Thursday in a statement condemning the ongoing crackdown on participants in the protests that began last July, saying the prison sentences imposed on those involved were “severe and unfair ”.
The names of the eight sanctioned officials were not released, but Blinken said they are all connected to the “arrest, conviction and imprisonment” of peaceful protesters. The United States claims that some 600 protesters across the island remain jailed following the July 11 protests despite calls for their release.
“The United States took steps to enforce visa restrictions in response to the Cuban government’s attempts to deny Cubans their freedom and rights through continued intimidation tactics, unjust imprisonment, and severe sentences,” Blinken stated.
The Biden government has largely maintained the political line of former president Donald Trump towards the island. Blinken announced visa restrictions on nine Cuban officials in late November for similar actions once morest protesters.
“The United States continues to use all appropriate diplomatic and economic tools to press for the release of political prisoners and to support the Cuban people’s call for greater freedom and accountability,” Blinken said.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez criticized the sanctions.
“The United States government persists in the bad habit of trying to impose its will on other governments through unilateral coercive measures,” he said in a statement. “The announcement made today by the Secretary of State does not alter one iota of Cuba’s determination to defend its sovereign rights”
In July, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in different cities of the country to protest once morest food shortages and power failures, in what were the largest protests once morest the communist government in the recent history of the island. . Some of the protesters called for a change of government.
Cuban authorities have said that the United States was the real instigator of the protests.
The Biden government has spoken out in favor of Cuban activists and praised the anti-government protests.
Shortly following the protests last July, the United States announced new sanctions once morest the Revolutionary National Police and its two main commanders.
This story was originally published on January 7, 2022 6:03 pm.
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