Announcement of Visa Restrictions Against Cuban Officials

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

In the wake of the Cuban regime’s actions targeting peaceful demonstrators on November 15, the Department of State has imposed visa restrictions on nine Cuban officials implicated in attempts to silence the voices of the Cuban people through repression and unjust detentions. The Department implemented these targeted actions pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 5377, which suspends nonimmigrant entry into the United States of officers and employees of the Cuban government.  These nine individuals include high-ranking members of the Ministries of the Interior and the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

In the days preceding November 15, the Cuban regime bullied activists with government-sponsored mobs, confined journalists and opposition members to their homes, revoked journalists’ credentials to suppress freedom of the press, and arbitrarily detained Cuban citizens who attempted to peacefully protest. The designated individuals today took action to deny Cubans their rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.  The rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are universal.

These visa restrictions advance our goal of supporting the Cuban people and promoting accountability not only for regime leaders but also for officials who enable the regime’s assaults on democracy and human rights.  The United States continues to use all our diplomatic and economic tools to push for the release of political prisoners and to support the Cuban people’s call for greater freedoms and accountability.