The U.S. State Department announces sanctions targeting Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, as tensions between Washington and Havana escalate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces the action on Thursday and says it is carried out under President Donald Trump’s May 1 executive order that expands sanctions related to government officials, agents, or material support tied to the Cuban government.
Both outlets report that Rubio frames the measure as part of a broader sanctions effort and links it to Executive Order 14404. The reports characterize CUPET as a key revenue source for Cuba’s state sector, making it a focus of U.S. pressure.
The announced sanctions add to existing U.S. restrictions on Cuba and are positioned as a way to increase financial and operational costs for the Cuban government-linked energy enterprise. The sources do not provide further details in the excerpted text on the specific legal or licensing consequences, enforcement steps, or additional affected entities beyond CUPET.
