The Trump administration on Thursday announced sanctions on five Cuban entities and eight individuals accused of procuring weapons and military equipment for the Cuban regime from Russia and China, the latest escalation in a months-long campaign targeting the island’s military-run economy.
The designations, announced by the State Department, hit companies and officials linked to the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and to GAESA, the military conglomerate that controls roughly 40% of Cuba’s economy. The action was taken under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, that authorizes sweeping sanctions on Cuba because of government repression and threats to U.S. national security.
In a statement, the administration described Cuba as “a state sponsor of terrorism that uses its military and intelligence apparatus to spy on the United States, provide material support to violent radicals and terrorist groups, and spread poisonous Marxist ideology within our borders and polity,” and accused Havana of serving as “a staging ground for other U.S. adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran to conduct operations “against the U.S.
“The Trump Administration will continue to use every tool at our disposal to address the national security threats posed by the Cuban Communist regime, and to drive economic and political reforms to give the Cuban people a better future,” the statement said, adding that Trump’s “resolve is ironclad” against what it called “a rogue state harboring hostile foreign military, intelligence, and terror operations just ninety miles from the American homeland.”
Companies tied to arms imports
Four companies that operate in Cuba’s defene sector were designated for sanctions:
- Tecnoimport (Empresa Cubana Importadora y Exportadora de Productos Técnicos), a GAESA subsidiary that imports technical products to Cuba, including military equipment for the military and that the State Department says has procured military equipment from China and Russia.
- Duna SA ( Sociedad Mercantil Duna SA), a Cuban import company also accused of bringing in military-related equipment from China and Russia.
- Unión de Industria Militar, a military holding company responsible for producing and repairing weapons for the armed forces, which the State Department says has worked with Russian defense entities to modernize Russian-origin weapons systems.
- Empresa Militar Industrial Yuri Gagarin, which repairs Cuba’s fleet of Russian-origin military helicopters and planes.
A fifth company, Tecnotex (Empresa Cubana Exportadora e Importadora de Servicios, Artículos y Productos Técnicos Especializados SA), another GAESA subsidiary, was designated for being controlled by the Cuban government. The State Department said Tecnotex has worked to refurbish Cuba’s Russian-origin helicopter fleet and has previously cooperated with North Korea.
The State Department also sanctioned Roberto Jesús Viciana Mousset, director general of Unión de Industria Militar and a brigadier general in Cuba’s armed forces, and Heriberto Sánchez Alleyne, director general of Tecnoimport, who the department says has been involved in procuring military equipment and services from China and Russia.
Six other military officials were sanctioned for facilitating Cuba’s military cooperation with foreign governments:
- Álvaro Victoriano López Miera, Cuba’s minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, who was previously sanctioned by the Treasury Department in July 2021.
- Roberto Legra Sotolongo, chief of the General Staff of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, accused of working to procure weapons systems from Russia.
- José Antonio Remón Rodríguez, head of the military’s Foreign Relations Directorate, who is accused of transferring military-related equipment from China and Russia to Cuba.
- Óscar Enrique Biosca Gallego, head of the military’s economic directorate, who is accused of working to procure military equipment from Russia and China.
- Mónica Milián Gómez, Cuba’s military attaché to Russia, accused of involvement in transferring military-related equipment from Russia to Cuba.
- Waldo Pérez Cortés, Cuba’s military attaché to China, accused of procuring military-related equipment from China.
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