US sanctions Cuban president and other officials for human rights violations
The protests, which were not led by an opposition group, developed July 11 and 12, 2021, drawing attention to the depths of Cuba's economic crisis. "The U.S. will continue to stand for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Cuba, and make clear no illegitimate, dictatorial regimes are welcome in our hemisphere,' Rubio said in the statement.
The Trump administration has taken a harder line against Cuba's government than the Biden administration. In addition to Díaz-Canel, the US sanctioned Cuban Defense Minister Álvaro López Miera and Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas. Shortly after the announcement, Johana Tablada, deputy director of the U.S. department in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, lashed out at Rubio, calling him a "defender of genocide, prisons and mass deportations.'
The rare protests in 2021 came about after repeated blackouts in Havana and other cities. One man died and some marches ended in vandalism. Groups supporting the government responded along with authorities to repress the protests. Human rights groups estimated there were more than 1,000 arrests but the government gave no official figures. At the time, the Cuban government said it was the result of a U.S. media campaign and decades of US sanctions.
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