WASHINGTON, Jan 2 (NNN-TELESUR) — The US Treasury Department announced the inclusion of Banco Financiero Internacional S.A. (BFI) on its sanctions list for supposedly “disproportionately” benefiting the Cuban military.
“The BFI is a commercial bank controlled by the Cuban military, which benefits directly from financial transactions at the expense of the Cuban people,” alleged U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement issued Friday.
According to his statements, these new sanctions imposed on Cuba are part of an escalation of pressure on the Caribbean island, before the outgoing US president, Donald Trump hands over power next Jan 20 to president-elect Joe Biden.
The text indicates that including BFI on the blacklist of sanctioned Cuban companies “promotes the [Trump] Administration’s goal of preventing the Cuban military from controlling and benefiting from financial transactions that should benefit the Cuban people.”
The new sanctions have taken place after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned this past Dec 21 the so-called “large Cuban government company” Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) and its subsidiaries, Financiera Cimex S.A. and Kave Coffee, S.A., for their operations in the island.
In fact, since the arrival of Trump to power in 2017, Washington has resumed a policy of systematic pressure and sanctions against the largest of the Antilles, ending the rapprochement brought about by his predecessor Barack Obama from 2009-2017.
Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced that Washington’s intention to bring Cuba to its knees, evidences the “hostility” of the US towards the island, stressing that, however, it has been a “resounding failure.” — NNN-TELESUR
