US imposes sanctions on Cuban leader Raul Castro's son-in-law

The offices of State and Treasury made the announcement on Wednesday

Written by Monika Walker

Published

Updated

The Trump administration is targeting the son-in-law of retired Cuban leader Raul Castro with penalties as it moves up its battle against the communist island’s government.

The offices of State and Treasury announced Wednesday that they had combined Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja to the U.S. list of “specially designated nationals and blocked persons.”

López-Calleja is the head chair of the Cuban military’s fiscal arm, which measures government businesses, including hotels, factories, stores, and an airline.

The departments of State and Treasury announced on Wednesday that Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, the spouse of Castro’s daughter, Deborah, was accommodating to finance human rights injustices and working in concert with Venezuela to suppress Cubans’ freedoms using revenue created from the Cuban military’s financial arm: the Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA).

López-Calleja is the head of GAESA, which manages state-owned businesses including hotels, factories, stores, and an airline. The movement stops any assets he may have in U.S. jurisdictions and restricts Americans from doing business with him.

Author Profile

Monika Walker is a senior journalist specializing in regional and international politics, offering in-depth analysis on governance, diplomacy, and key global developments. With a degree in International Journalism, she is dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices through factual reporting. She also covers world news across every genre, providing readers with balanced and timely insights that connect the Caribbean to global conversations.