US top diplomat in Havana promises more sanctions on Cuba
By Dave Sherwood
HAVANA (Reuters) -The United States' top diplomat in Havana said on Friday the U.S. had more sanctions in store for Cuba just days after punishing several Cuban judicial officials for their roles in jailing political dissidents on the island.
Three Cuban judges and a prosecutor were forbidden from entering the United States on Wednesday, the latest sanctions from the Trump administration, which earlier declared a tough new policy on Cuba.
"The sanctions announced this Wednesday were just the beginning," U.S. Embassy chief of mission Mike Hammer told reporters in Miami. "This administration is determined to sanction repressors. There will be consequences for their actions."
U.S. President Donald Trump has already doubled down on sanctions since taking office in January, returning longtime foe Cuba to a U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, tightening rules on remittances and shutting off Biden-era migration programs.
The 61-year-old Hammer, a career U.S. diplomat who arrived in Cuba just six months ago, has kept a busy schedule, wandering the country widely as he talks with dissidents, small business owners and Cubans of all walks of life.
In videos produced by the U.S. embassy and shared on social media, Hammer, fluent in Spanish, plays dominoes with a group of children in Camaguey, visits the tomb of Cuban hero Jose Marti in Santiago and speaks with family members of jailed dissidents in homes throughout Cuba.
His travels come as Cubans confront the worst economic downturn in decades, a growing crisis the Cuban government blames on the Cold War-era U.S. embargo, a web of restrictions that complicates financial transactions, trade and tourism.
Hammer told reporters on Friday that those Cubans he had spoken with in his travels disagreed that the U.S. was to blame.
"The people recognize that those responsible are the Cuban regime, it has nothing to do with any policy of the United States."
His travels and assertions have infuriated the Cuban government, which accuses Hammer of seeking to stir up resentment in a bid to overthrow the island's communist leadership.
But Cuba has not impeded Hammer's travels, despite issuing a recent warning in state-run media that its "patience has limits."
Hammer told reporters he would continue his work on the island.
"What are they scared of? I'm just a simple chief of mission talking with the people," he said.
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