Matthew Lee

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on nine Cuban government-linked mining, metals and construction entities and on leaders of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. Marco Rubio accused the organization of cultivating and radicalizing Americans, while Washington has intensified enforcement of restrictions on US citizens transacting with Cuban state-affiliated businesses. Several Americans returning from Cuba were detained and had electronic devices inspected at Miami airport, though they were released and could still face prosecution. The measures come amid escalating US pressure, including an oil blockade that has worsened Cuba’s severe economic crisis, causing blackouts, fuel and medicine shortages, transport disruptions and the collapse of tourism. Cuba’s embassy did not comment, while the Cuban government has routinely condemned the longstanding US embargo as unjust.

The U.S. State Department plans to make permanent a visa-bond program covering citizens of 50 mostly African countries, raising the maximum bond for B1 and B2 visa applicants to $20,000 and eliminating the $5,000 option. The department says the program sharply reduced visa overstays, while critics argue that it unfairly burdens applicants from poorer countries. The pilot covered roughly 20,000 applicants instead of the 2,000 initially projected; nearly half did not pay the bond, and visa issuance to nationals of affected countries fell by 83%.