Cuba Condemns US Sanctions on Nat'l Police as 'Justification' for Continued Blockade
TEHRAN(Tasnim) – Washington's new bout of sanctions against the Cuban police and its leaders is a means to justify the island's continued economic blockade, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said.
On Friday, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the Cuban National Revolutionary Police, the head of the force, and his deputy in the latest round of sanctions against the island nation.
"I categorically reject the inclusion of the National Revolutionary Police and its two leaders in illegitimate lists in the US. These arbitrary measures, coupled with disinformation and aggression, are used to justify the inhumane blockade of Cuba," the minister tweeted, Sputnik reported.
The same day, US President Joe Biden, following a meeting with Cuban activists, announced that Washington will continue to impose sanctions on individuals in Cuba over alleged abuses.
"President Biden's meeting with Cuban annexionists is a farce to justify the change of regime operation against #Cuba," Parrilla said, adding that the US government is only interested in "Florida's electoral machinery" and "ignores the claim by Cuban people" and other voters.
Last week, the US imposed sanctions targeting the Cuban military and the interior ministry over the crackdown of recent protests earlier in July.
Some Cubans demonstrated in the streets amid the country’s economic decline exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and demanded free elections and improved economic conditions. The government deployed security forces across the country and halted communications, including the internet, while its supporters engaged in counter-demonstrations.