US slaps new sanctions on Cuba

Washington

The United States has tightened its sanctions against Cuba, adding a company that handles remittances sent to Cubans to its restricted list, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday.

The Cuban military-controlled company American International Services (AIS) handles money transfers from abroad to Cuba, and under the new restrictions, no one under US jurisdiction may do business with it from Tuesday, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported.

In 2017, the US State Department published a restricted list of 180 companies and other institutions which, according to the US, serve the Cuban military, secret service, or security forces.

"The people should be able to receive funds from their families abroad without having to line the pockets of their oppressors," Pompeo said Monday of the inclusion of AIS on the list.

"The Cuban people deserve to live in freedom and dignity, able to choose their leadership and provide for themselves and their families," Pompeo continued.

US President Donald Trump has sought to turn back the policy of opening relations with communist Cuba implemented under former President Barack Obama.

Trump's administration has imposed a string of sanctions to pressure the island to stop supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom it wants to oust from office.

The US has also restricted people traveling from there to Cuba and set an upper limit of $1,000 per quarter that people from the US are allowed to send to family members in Cuba.

Many Cubans in exile live in the US state of Florida, which is likely to be particularly contested in the presidential election in November.