Rubio sanctions Cuban entities despite attempt to liberalize

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned five Cuban companies, despite Havana’s attempts to liberalize.

Rubio leaned into the stick side of the carrot-and-stick approach to Cuba on Tuesday, dashing hopes from the Cuban government that a new move to modernize could spare it from further crushing sanctions. Three of the five companies were linked to the Grupo de Administracion Empresarial, a military-run conglomerate that controls much of Cuba’s economy. The State Department also sanctioned the wife of Alejandro Castro Espin, a member of the Castro extended family.