US Treasury Sanctions Raúl Castro's Grandson and Six Cuban Entities

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, the 31-year-old grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro, as a Specially Designated National, along with the state-owned Banco Exterior de Cuba, oil-trading intermediary Comercial CUPET S.A., petroleum-equipment importer Abapet, and nickel/cobalt trading firms Cexni and Nicarotec. Castro Calis was designated as an adult family member of a previously blocked person — his father Alejandro Castro Espín, a former senior Interior Ministry official, and brother Raúl Alejandro Castro Calis were sanctioned in June 2026 under the same executive order, making this the third generation of the Castro family's inner financial circle to be hit. All US-linked assets of the designees are frozen and Americans are barred from transacting with them absent a license. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures 'reflect President Trump's unwavering vision for a free Cuba,' accusing the island's 'Communist regime elites' of presiding over 'a failed state where ordinary Cubans go hungry.' Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected the sanctions, saying 'Cuba does not threaten US national security or the US economy.'