Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, today designated Cuba’s BICSA as a sanctioned entity for providing financial services to Iran’s Karafarin Bank. The action targets a Cuban state‑owned bank that has long funneled money to Iran’s terrorist network.
Rubio Announces Sanction
Rubio said Cuba has become an outpost for hostile foreign military, intelligence and terror operations within a hundred miles of U.S. shores. He warned that the Trump administration will not tolerate a rogue state hosting such activities.
The new Monroe Doctrine, pushed by the Trump administration, aims to eradicate terrorism and transnational crime from the Western Hemisphere. It also targets entities that support terrorists abroad, including the Cuban bank aiding Iran’s jihadi financing.
Treasury Expands Pressure
Treasury’s latest move, announced alongside Rubio’s sanction, also blacklists an Iraqi bank that assists Iran’s proxy militias. Operation Economic Outcast disrupted Iran’s efforts to infiltrate the international financial system through that Iraqi conduit.
The Treasury action follows a series of sanctions aimed at cutting Iran’s financing network.
Officials say the coordinated economic and military pressure will degrade Iran’s capacity to threaten U.S. interests. The sanctions are expected to ripple through shell companies and foreign‑exchange specialists moving hundreds of millions of dollars.
