Secretary Rubio Terminates Legal Status of Cuban Communist Foreign Influence Operative

 

 

 This week, three Cuban nationals were apprehended by federal agents following Secretary Rubio’s termination of their legal status. Carlos Antonio Lloga Dominguez – who spent more than a decade working as a foreign subversive for the Communist Cuban regime’s premier influence and intelligence front group in the United States – and his wife and son are now in federal custody pending removal from our country. Lloga Dominguez spent more than a decade employed by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People (ICAP). He has continued to maintain ties to the transnational communist subversion network throughout his time residing in our nation. (Press Statement: Secretary Rubio Terminates Legal Status of Cuban Communist Foreign Influence Operative )

What makes this interesting is not just that the migration and residence status of certain individuals was terminated as a function of their relationship with a sanctioned at least formally civil society organ, but that the template it creates will be as usefully applied elsewhere as it has been applied to the Cuban situation.  It is a template that can be used with respect to anyone involved in the domestic operations of any entity, whether or no so formally constituted, that is designated as an organization that might be sanctioned under authority vested in the Executive branch or otherwise. In the case of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People (ICAP), for subversive activities, on 4 June 2026 (see here). The only thing that is left, and one that is politically charged, especially in the current efforts to discredit courts  (using their own actions) as political instruments of domestic (or foreign) factional politics. 

Pix credit and the text of the letter here

 The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People (ICAP) is of a type that is well known globally, the structure, objectives, and functioning of which might be understood to owe its inspiration from the quite brilliant work of the Communist International before the start of the wider theater of war in Europe in 1939, now refined to suit the times. In its current form and following the Chinese model elaborated in its current form with, for example, the Belt & Road Initiative, it is focused on people to people exchanges in ways that promote solidarity and more intimate and positive relations among peoples and people's collective organizations.  It is from these that the spirit of those exchanges can then be projected inward. That model applies not just between Marxist-Leninist and liberal democratic entities but also within the broad Marxist-Leninist camp as well (example here). 

It is i  this sense that organizations like ICAP might be understood by some to be both embedded within the constitutionally protected web of discourse in liberal democratic states and also aligned, or connected, with extra-national elements including elements connected to state organs of other states. There is nothing inherently wrong with this in liberal democracy, though in Marxist-Leninist States like Cuba and China those connections would be viewed as anti-patriotic, subversive and to a large extent illegal within their domestic legal orders and certainly within their normative and ideological ordering. Much of the discussion in liberal democracy centers on transparency--that is, the source of the "speech acts" that are projected into one way or another the Republic. And transparency is intimately connected with liberal democracy's abhorrence of fraud, deception and manipulative practices (though of course every application is more or less uniquely contextual and every principle is riddled with exception).  Suppression, as in this case, requires subversion or other acts that the political organs of the United States  deem inimical to the political health of the Republic or in the service of its interests, domestically and abroad, and always subject to the intervention of the courts, though, again, here too judges  with less than total fidelity to neutrality in their choices of interpretive position harm that institution as much as they may advance their own ideologically important (to them) ideological interpretive cage. This later point, is deeply embedded into the fabric of the Republic and its operation. Though it suggests consequence (as it has since the 1790s), it does not suggest that those consequences are necessarily or invariably structural or fatal in their effect. . . .  in the longer run. But it also suggests that the nature and presumptions of cross border exchanges, even those undertaken by and through state organs, directly or indirectly, are no longer, as they were at the start of the century, presumed benign actions. One can expect both greater scrutiny and more action by all states.

 The text of the 4 June Sanctions designation of ICAP follows below also with the Department of State Press Statement on the Termination of Legal Status. 

 

 

Sanctions on Cuban Actors Responsible for Subversive Anti-American Activities

Fact Sheet

Office of the Spokesperson

June 4, 2026

Today, the Department of State is designating five entities and five individuals as part of the Trump Administration’s comprehensive push to end the Cuban regime’s decades-long campaign of political, ideological, and institutional warfare against the United States and to hold accountable those who sustain its operations and profit from the Cuban people’s oppression. 

The Cuban regime continues to demonstrate that it prioritizes the exportation of radical left-wing violence through its malign influence networks and the enrichment of the regime over the well-being of the Cuban people.  These sanctions are designed to hold international actors supporting the Cuban regime accountable.  Foreign banks and companies providing services to those designated are at risk of sanctions and should freeze those activities. The Trump Administration will continue to target the Cuban regime’s subversive network, those who enable its subversive operations, and those who profit while the Cuban people suffer. 

All Department of State targets designated today have been designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14404, which authorizes sanctions on persons determined to meet specified criteria related to repression in Cuba and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy.   

Taking Action Against the Cuban Regime 

The following entities associated with developing, implementing, and funding the Cuban regime’s violent revolutionary network are being designated:  

Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba  (MINFAR)

MINFAR is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(F) of E.O. 14404 for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.  MINFAR is the government ministry in charge of the Cuban military. 

Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)

ICAP is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(F) of E.O. 14404 for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.  ICAP is a Cuban organization founded by Fidel Castro in 1960 that supports Cuban intelligence and counterintelligence activities. 

Amistur Cuba SA

Amistur Cuba SA is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2 (a)(i)(B) of E.O. 14404 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, ICAP, an entity designated pursuant to E.O. 14404 for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba.   

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR)

CDR is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2 (a)(i)(B) of E.O. 14404 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Government of Cuba.  CDR is under the direction of the MINISTRY OF INTERIOR OF CUBA, which was previously designated for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba, and is a fundamental pillar of Cuba’s state oppressive security apparatus. 

The following regime-aligned elites and their family members are being designated: 

Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez (DIAZ-CANEL)

DIAZ-CANELis being designated pursuant to Sec. 2 (a)(i)(E) of E.O. 14404 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the Government of Cuba.  DIAZ-CANEL is the President of Cuba.

Lis Cuesta Peraza

LIS CUESTA PERAZA is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(I) of E.O. 14404 for being an adult family member of a person designated pursuant to this order.  LIS CUESTA PERAZA is the spouse of DIAZ-CANEL.  

Manuel Anido Cuesta

MANUEL ANIDO CUESTA is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(I) of E.O. 14404 for being an adult family member of a person designated pursuant to this order.  MANUEL ANIDO CUESTA is LIS CUESTA PERAZA’s son and DIAZ-CANEL’s stepson.  

Alejandro Castro Espin

ALEJANDRO CASTRO ESPIN is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(B) of E.O. 14404 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Government of Cuba.  ALEJANDRO CASTRO ESPIN is the former head of the Cuban intelligence services and the son of Raul Modesto Castro Ruz.   

Raul Alejandro Castro Calis

RAUL ALEJANDRO CASTRO CALIS is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(I) of E.O. 14404 for being an adult family member of a person designated pursuant to this order.  RAUL ALEJANDRO CASTRO CALIS is the son of ALEJANDRO CASTRO ESPIN. 

Depriving Revenue to the Cuban Regime 

The following entity, responsible for generating revenue for the Cuban regime, is being designated pursuant to Sec. 2(a)(i)(A) of E.O. 14404 for operating in or having operated in the metals and mining sector of the Cuban economy: 

Minera la Victoria SA

MINERA LA VICTORIA S.A., which is a Cuban gold mining joint venture created by Australia-based entity Antilles Gold Ltd and Cuban SOE Geominera SA.  

Sanctions Implications

As a result of today’s sanctions-related actions, and in accordance with Executive Order 14404 of May 1, 2026, “Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy,” all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).  Additionally, all entities that are owned individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. 

All transactions and dealings by U.S. persons or persons within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or exempt.  These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.  Foreign persons that engage in transactions with persons designated pursuant to E.O. 14404—or that operate in the energy, defense and related materiel, metals and mining, financial services, or security sector of the Cuban economy, as identified in E.O. 14404—are themselves at risk of sanctions.  Non-U.S. persons, including foreign financial institutions, should proceed with caution in any dealings with a party sanctioned under this authority.  Actions to return assets to a sanctioned party or transfer them to another jurisdiction for potential use by the target could expose non-U.S. persons to significant sanctions risk.  All property and interests in property of persons that are blocked pursuant to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) continue to be blocked.  The CACR prohibits persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction from dealing in property in which Cuba or a Cuban national has an interest, unless authorized or exempt. 

The power and integrity of U.S. government sanctions derive not only from the U.S. government’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law.  The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior.    

Petitions for removal from the SDN List may be sent to: OFAC.Reconsideration@treasury.gov.  Petitioners may also refer to the Department of State’s Delisting Guidance page. 

 

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Secretary Rubio Terminates Legal Status of Cuban Communist Foreign Influence Operative

Press Statement

Thomas "Tommy" Pigott, Spokesperson

July 1, 2026

This week, three Cuban nationals were apprehended by federal agents following Secretary Rubio’s termination of their legal status. Carlos Antonio Lloga Dominguez – who spent more than a decade working as a foreign subversive for the Communist Cuban regime’s premier influence and intelligence front group in the United States – and his wife and son are now in federal custody pending removal from our country. Lloga Dominguez spent more than a decade employed by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People (ICAP). He has continued to maintain ties to the transnational communist subversion network throughout his time residing in our nation.

ICAP, which Secretary Rubio designated for sanctions under Executive Order 14404 earlier this month, is the central node in a sprawling Cuban intelligence and influence operation, claiming to span more than 2,000 organizations across more than 150 countries. The organization has a long and intimate relationship with Cuban intelligence agents; in fact, ICAP’s current president, Fernando González Llort, is a convicted Cuban spy who served 15 years in U.S. prison for his role in the infamous Wasp Network — a massive illegal Cuban spy ring uncovered in Florida in the late 1990s. Working in close coordination with the Cuban communist regime, ICAP maintains an outsized footprint across the United States, trafficking in vile anti-American propaganda, cultivating pro-Havana regime activists and politicians, and lobbying federal, state and local politicians on behalf of the Cuban dictatorship. The organization facilitates close working relationships between Havana and radical U.S. groups, using America’s far left milieu as a vehicle to export Cuba’s Communist revolution to the United States.

Under the Trump Administration, America will never become home for Cuban Communist regime thugs who peddle propaganda, run foreign influence operations, or seek to wage revolution against American civilization. As a reminder, pursuant to Executive Order 14404, all ICAP property and interests in property are blocked and any transactions with ICAP are prohibited absent an express authorization by the Departments of Treasury or State. And any foreign aliens involved in ICAP’s anti-American subversion operations should expect to soon find themselves on an ICE deportation flight.