On May Day, Trump Ramps Up War on Cuba

Trump’s May 1 executive order is extremely broad, threatening sanctions against foreign individuals and entities determined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to have “operated” in any “sector of the Cuban economy.” 

In effect, the order gives carte blanche to Rubio, a Cuban-American politician from South Florida who has never stepped foot in Cuba, to go after third parties in other countries doing business on the island.

In addition to threatening to freeze assets, the order allows Rubio to impose a travel ban on any foreign individual who is considered to be in violation. The “adult family members” of these individuals would also be banned.

In addition, the order targets foreign banks that process transactions related to Cuba, which could further lock the island out of the international financial system.

The order is as nebulous as it is broad. For example, it does not define what an “adult family member” is — would a distant cousin be implicated? Moreover, key language is left vague, such as what it means to “have operated” in the Cuban economy.

The vagueness is likely intentional, creating a climate of fear in which companies, not knowing when they would be in violation, would avoid Cuba altogether.

The pretext: “national security.” The goal: “pain.”

The order invokes a supposed “national emergency,” arguing that Cuba poses an “extraordinary threat.” The administration issued a "fact sheet" claiming that Cuba hosts foreign spy bases, sponsors terrorism, provides safe haven to Hezbollah, and drives migration to the United States. There is no credible evidence to substantiate any of these allegations.

The actual motivation behind the order’s extraterritorial “secondary sanctions” was expressed a year ago by then U.S. Special Envoy to Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone, a Cuban-American hardliner and Rubio ally who has been a mastermind behind Trump’s hard-line Cuba policy.