The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on the Cuban Ministry of Interior and the Minister of Interior, Lazaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, for alleged human rights abuses on Friday.

Under Executive Order 13818, the Treasury Secretary has the authority to impose sanctions. The Treasury Department has also recently imposed sanctions on other individuals, such as Iraqi military leader Falih al-Fayyadh, for alleged human rights abuses.

The Cuban Ministry of the Interior is responsible for controlling Cuba’s police, internal security forces, and the prison system. As an example of the ministry’s abuses, the department cited Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer, who was held in a Cuban Ministry of Interior-controlled prison in September 2019. There, he was reportedly beaten, tortured, held in isolation, and given no medical attention.

On the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin stated: “The Cuban regime has a long history of human rights abuse. The United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to address the dire human rights situation in Cuba and elsewhere around the world.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also stated:

The United States supports the Cuban people’s just aspirations for democracy, prosperity, and respect for their human rights, and we are implementing this designation in support of those aspirations.  The Castro regime’s repression of fundamental freedoms requires the condemnation and action of all countries that respect human dignity.  We call upon other governments and international organizations to demand accountability of the Cuban government for violating and abusing the rights of the Cuban people.