US Sanctions Cuban President, Wife and Son Raul Castro

JAKARTA - The US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez and his relatives, as well as relatives of former President Raul Castro.

People affected by the sanctions include Diaz-Canel's wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, and her son, Manuel Anido Cuesta. Other targets include Castro's son, Alejandro Castro Espin, and his grandson Raul Alejandro Castro Calis.

In mid-May, the US Justice Department indicted Raul Castro and five Cuban military officers for the shooting down of two planes in 1996 linked to the Miami-based exile group, Brothers to the Rescue.

Havana called the accusations a political provocation and stressed that they were acting in self-defense after repeated violations of the country's airspace by the group's aircraft.

Previously, the Cuban government on Friday (29/5) said that the threat of US aggression against his country was increasing amid economic pressure and tightening sanctions.

"The danger of military aggression against Cuba is increasing every day," said Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal Ferreiro in a parliamentary session.

According to Ferreiro, the US has increased economic pressure on Cuba in recent months through restrictive measures to cripple the country's economy and trigger a humanitarian crisis.

"The economic war imposed more than six decades ago has been tightened in an unprecedented way in recent months," he said.

Ferreiro also accused the US of creating a new pretext to increase pressure on Cuba and potentially justify military action against the country.