• US sanctions Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel four years after significant protests.
• The sanctions target high-ranking officials for human rights violations.
• Visa restrictions imposed on several senior Cuban officials.
• Controversial luxury hotel added to the US restricted list.
• Cuban government criticizes US's actions as ineffective and provocative.

The United States has announced sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, citing his role in the "brutality toward the Cuban people." This action coincides with the fourth anniversary of the major anti-government protests that erupted in July 2021, where thousands protested against economic shortages, leading to hundreds of arrests and several injuries, according to Al Jazeera and Dawn.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the sanctions include visa restrictions for Diaz-Canel and other senior officials, such as Defence Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas, in response to their involvement in severe human rights violations. “While the Cuban people suffer shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime lavishes money on its insiders," Rubio stated, as reported by Le Monde, India Times, and TRT Global.

Additionally, the US State Department has added the fifty-story Torre K hotel in Havana to its restricted list of entities, a strategic move aimed at preventing US dollars from benefiting the Cuban regime, echoing the ongoing tensions resulting from decades-long economic sanctions against Cuba, highlighted by Al Jazeera and Le Monde.

The Cuban government, represented by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, condemned the US sanctions as a "ruthless economic war," asserting that they cannot break the will of the Cuban people or their leaders. Rodriguez labeled the sanctions as ineffective and part of a larger pattern of US intervention, which has faced criticism for its timely imposition amid the island's ongoing struggles with economic hardship, as noted by Dawn and TRT Global.