US imposes new sanctions against Cuba

Washington, Sep 24 (IANS) The US has imposed new sanctions against Cuba, in an effort to further denying sources of revenue to the government in Havana.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Treasury Department said the new measures will prohibit US citizens from “lodging at certain properties in Cuba, importing Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products, attending or organizing professional meetings or conferences, and participating in and organizing certain public performances, clinics, workshops, competitions, and exhibitions in Cuba”, Xinhua news agency.

The new sanctions were first announced by President Donald Trump earlier in the day during his remarks to honour the Bay of Pigs veterans at a White House event.

“Today, as part of our continuing fight against communist oppression, I am announcing that the Treasury Department will prohibit US travellers from staying at properties owned by the Cuban government,” the President was quoted as saying.

“We’re also further restricting the importation of Cuban alcohol and Cuban tobacco… These actions will ensure that US dollars do not fund the Cuban regime and go directly to the Cuban people,” he added.

During his video address to the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned Washington’s intensified economic blockade against the island nation.

He said the Trump administration as a “morally corrupt regime”.

In April 1961, the American government supported an abortive invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs in southwest Cuba, after the 1959 Cuba Revolution led by Fidel Castro overthrew a Washington-friendly government.

–IANS

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