US imposes sanctions on Cuban defence minister over support for Venezuela’s social president Maduro

Washington blacklisted Leopoldo Cintra Frias and his children, Deborah Cintra Gonzalez and Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez

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Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos (R) and Cuban Army Corps general Leopoldo Cintra Frias (L) take part in a ceremony held at Colon cemetery in Havana. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:28am, 3 Jan 2020Updated: 7:28am, 3 Jan 2020

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on Cuba’s defense minister, accusing him of human rights violations and supporting socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

Washington blacklisted Leopoldo Cintra Frias, minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR), and his children, Deborah Cintra Gonzalez and Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez, in its latest action targeting Havana for its support of Maduro.

Pompeo said MINFAR had been involved in the torture of Venezuelans and subjected them to “cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment for their anti-Maduro stances” alongside Maduro’s military and intelligence officers.

The designation bars Cintra, a career military officer who joined Fidel Castro’s rebel army in 1957, and his children from entering the United States.

Cuban President Raul Castro (C), Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura (L) and Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), General Leopoldo Cintra Frias (R) participate in a military parade in honour of recently disappeared Cuban leader Fidel Castro at Revolution Square in Havana. Photo: AFP

The Cuban Embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment.