Cuba has accused Donald Trump of punishing an entire nation after Washington unveiled sweeping new sanctions aimed at major pillars of the island’s economy.

The latest US move targets people operating in broad sections of Cuba’s economy, including energy, defence and mining, according to reports on the executive order signed Friday. Havana says that reach goes far beyond political pressure and lands squarely on ordinary Cubans, framing the measures as “collective punishment” at a moment when the country already faces deep economic strain.

“Collective punishment” has become Havana’s blunt verdict on a sanctions package that reaches into some of the most important sectors of the Cuban economy.

The announcement landed alongside a show of defiance in the Cuban capital. An enormous 1 May procession outside the American embassy in Havana vowed to “defend the homeland,” turning the annual demonstration into a pointed political response. The march underscored how quickly sanctions policy can spill from executive orders into the streets, where state messaging, nationalism and economic anxiety often collide.

Key Facts

  • The US sanctions target people involved in broad areas of Cuba’s economy.
  • Sectors named include energy, defence and mining.
  • Cuba’s government says the measures amount to “collective punishment.”
  • A large 1 May procession in Havana rallied outside the US embassy.

The wider strategy appears clear: intensify pressure on Havana after Trump earlier ousted Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, according to the news signal. But the sanctions also risk hardening the standoff rather than loosening it. Measures this broad can squeeze trade, investment and access to critical resources, while giving Cuban authorities fresh grounds to rally public support against Washington.

What happens next matters well beyond Cuba. The sanctions could deepen economic pain on the island, provoke more confrontation between Havana and Washington, and test how far the US will go in reshaping the region after events in Venezuela. For Cubans, the immediate question is simpler and harsher: whether this new pressure campaign changes the government’s behavior, or simply makes daily life harder.