(Corrects Diaz-Canel’s age to 66, not 60, paragraph 3)
By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and some affiliated people and entities, the U.S. Treasury Department’s website showed.
The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions, which also targeted four other people and five entities, including the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.
Diaz-Canel, 66, has served as president of the Caribbean country since taking over from Raul Castro, the brother of Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro, in 2018.
Thursday’s action against Diaz-Canel is the latest by Washington to intensify pressure on the island’s communist leaders.
The sanctions were announced as President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. wanted Cuba “to be a nicely run country.”
Last month, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials, including the country’s communications minister, several military leaders and its main intelligence agency.
The U.S. also charged Raul Castro with murder for his alleged involvement in a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone)
