Credit: Gary Raynaldo  / U.S. Department Of State building in Washington D.C.

By Gary Raynaldo  / DIPLOMATIC TIMES

WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department has banned Cuban Interior Minister Julio Cesar Gandarilla Bermejo from entering the country over his involvement, “by command responsibility,” in gross human rights violations in Venezuela.  In addition to the public designation of  Gandarilla Bermejo, the State Department is also publicly designating his children, Julio Cesar Gandarilla Sarmiento and Alejandro Gandarilla Sarmiento.  The U.S. said Gandarilla Bermejo was responsible for “arbitrarily arresting and detaining thousands of Cuban citizens and unlawfully incarcerating more than 100 political prisoners in Cuba”.

“Ministry officials have overseen the torture of political dissidents, detainees, and prisoners, as well as the murder of some of these individuals by police and security forces.  Gandarilla Bermejo is complicit in arbitrarily or unlawfully surveilling these groups, whether they be citizens or visitors.”

-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

The Secretary of State added that the U.S. strongly encourages other governments and international organizations demand accountability of the Cuban government for “violating and abusing human rights and fundamental freedoms.”   Pompeo also said the U.S. continues to support the Cuban and Venezuelan people, and “the Department implements this designation with that goal in mind.”

Julio Cesar Gandarilla Bermejo ,  Minister of Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior (MININT)

In September, the Trump administration imposed similar U.S. travel sanctions on Cuban Communist Party chief Raul Castro,  Cuban’s former president and younger brother of the late Fidel Castro, over his support for Maduro and involvement in what it called “gross violations of human rights.

In addition, the Department of State announced an update to the Cuba Restricted List to add five sub-entities owned by the Cuban military to the list of entities with which direct financial transactions are generally prohibited. Among the  Cuba Restricted List are:

Ministries

MINFAR — Ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias

MININT — Ministerio del Interior

Holding Companies

CIMEX — Corporación CIMEX S.A.

Compañía Turística Habaguanex S.A.

GAESA — Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.

Gaviota — Grupo de Turismo Gaviota

UIM — Unión de Industria Militar

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(For The Full List:  See  U.S. Department of State’s list of entities and subentities)