U.S. Treasury imposes sanctions on Cuban president and four others

The United States imposed sanctions on Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel, his wife, and three other individuals, according to a Thursday filing from the U.S. Treasury Department. Included in the sanctions is Alejandro Castro Espín, the son of former President Raúl Castro and Vilma Espín.

He served as an advisor to Cuba's Defense and National Security Commission and attended a March 2016 meeting in Havana between Raúl Castro and former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Background on the sanctions The sanctions follow an executive order that expanded measures against the island. They also come after the United States announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro. Last month, officials defended new sanctions against Havana, including measures targeting Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

The Associated Press reached out to Cuban authorities and did not receive a response. The new sanctions increase pressure on the Cuban government. The United States has previously imposed sanctions on heads of state and their relatives, including former Sudanese President Omar Bashir and former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in the early 2000s, and more recently former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.