The US State Department has added the Cuban bank BFI to its sanctions list.
The Cuban military controls the financial institution and uses it to enrich itself through transactions, it said in justification.
The U.S. has previously repeatedly imposed sanctions on Cuban individuals and organizations under various pretexts.
Cuba has been unilaterally sanctioned by the U.S. for the past six decades for resisting U.S. intervention.
In 2017, the U.S. State Department had published a list of initially 180 companies and other entities that the U.S. claimed were serving the Cuban military, intelligence or security forces.
The UN has issued several resolutions calling on the U.S. to end sanctions and economic blockade against Cuba. However, Washington has always ignored these resolutions.
Cuba and EU discuss sustainable development
Representatives of Cuba and the European Union held today the second round of political talks on sustainable development in an atmosphere of mutual respect and construction.
“The meeting discussed the two sides’ common priorities in the field of sustainable development,” the Cuban Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.
The text said, “The priorities of both sides include, in particular, measures to reverse global warming, strategies for the transition to a knowledge-based economy based on social inclusion and the role of health systems, and the development of biotechnology in the face of the Corona pandemic.”
In a video conference, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to international cooperation and support for the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Cuban delegation acknowledged that U.S. economic, trade, and financial sanctions against Cuba are a major obstacle to sustainable development in Cuba and an impediment to the National Plan for Economic and Social Development for 2030.
The European Union had first signed an agreement with the Republic of Cuba in mid-December 2016. Before the start of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, the former representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, and her Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, have concluded the agreement on political dialogue and cooperation.
by Jeremy Abbott – American Correspondent – AN