The US has imposed new sanctions on Cuba's state-owned oil and gas company, Union Cuba-Petroleo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounces the company as a tool for Cuba's "repressive security apparatus". He also criticizes the Castro family for profiting from Cuba's oil. The sanctions are the latest step under US President Donald Trump to apply pressure to Cuba's communist government. Since January, Trump has led a campaign to restrict fuel on the island.
The World Cup is taking place in Miami, 200 miles from Cuba's north coast. Eight teams have training camps in Florida, including England and Scotland. The first game scheduled in Miami will be held on 15 June, and tens of thousands of fans are due to fly into the city. Cuba's proximity to the US complicates things for the American military.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Cuba's state-owned oil and gas company Union Cuba-Petroleo. The move came hours after senior Chinese and Cuban officials held a video conference to discuss bilateral cooperation and party-to-party ties. The two sides exchanged views on implementing agreements reached by the countries’ leaders and expanding inter-party exchanges.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the American military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday. He is the third high-ranking American official to visit the island of Cuba this year, following visits by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Gen. Francis L. Donovan. The visits occurred amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to contain the Cuban Communist Party.
Trump's government will continue to take action against Cuba's government. Cuba has not received any oil from Venezuela since December because of the blockade. Cuba, with ten million inhabitants, relies on oil for electricity. Because of scarce energy, Cubans regularly struggle with power outages.
The United States announced sanctions against Cuba's state-owned oil company Union Cuba-Petroleo (CUPET) on Thursday. The company's assets were unlawfully expropriated from American owners years ago, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Caribbean countries are at the crossroads of security and development. Barbados is a net energy importer, because 90% of its electrical generation comes from fossil fuels. The region of the Caribbean is a high-value, high-return market. It is characterized by energy insecurity, price volatility, surging and escalating costs of living and costs of doing business. It has aggressive renewable energy ambitions.
Donald Trump has pursued military interventions in Latin America more than any other U.S. president in decades. The White House and State Department have designated a plethora of guerrilla groups, drug cartels, gangs and criminal enterprises as "foreign terrorist organizations". The death toll from the war on alleged narco-terrorists has risen to over 200 people. Peruvian President Fernando Belaúnde Terry coined the term "narco-terrorism" in 1982 to describe the infiltration of Shining Path guerrillas into the drug trade.
The world marked the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy invasions during the Second World War on D Day. Geopolitical Futures chairman and founder George Friedman and Christian Smith discuss the lessons from that day 82 years ago and the current political situation in the U.S. Christian Smith and George Friedman discuss the current geopolitical situation in America and China.