The Biden administration on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions against the besieged Cuban government for its violent crackdown on demonstrators, blacklisting the defense minister and a paramilitary police force. Hundreds have been beaten or arrested, human rights activists say. The punishment comes under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, a nearly decade-old measure initially designed to focus on Russia but expanded to punish abusers of human rights worldwide. AdvertisementThe Biden administration said it would revive travel between the U.S. and Cuba and make it easier for Cuban Americans to send remittances to relatives. An additional step the U.S. is contemplating, administration officials said, is to replenish the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, which was all but closed under Trump.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 22, 2021 17:14 UTC