El gobierno de Estados Unidos anunció este lunes nuevas sanciones contra la Dirección de Inteligencia de Cuba, considerada la principal estructura de espionaje del régimen, y contra nueve funcionarios cubanos vinculados a áreas estratégicas de la dictadura de Miguel Díaz-Canel. La medida fue oficializada por la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros (OFAC), dependiente del Departamento del Tesoro.

Entre las personas alcanzadas por las restricciones aparecen funcionarios relacionados con los ministerios de Comunicaciones, Energía y Justicia, según detalló el comunicado difundido por el Departamento del Tesoro. Las sanciones implican el bloqueo de bienes y activos que puedan encontrarse bajo jurisdicción estadounidense, además de restricciones para operaciones financieras y comerciales.

La medida se suma a otras acciones recientes impulsadas por la administración estadounidense para incrementar la presión política y económica sobre el régimen comunista.

Entre los nombres incluidos aparecen la ministra de Comunicaciones, Mayra Arevich Marín; el ministro de Energía, Vicente de la O Levy; y el ministro de Justicia, Oscar Manuel Silvera Martínez, además de otros dirigentes vinculados al aparato estatal cubano.

También fueron sancionados Roberto Tomás Morales Ojeda, integrante de la cúpula política del régimen; Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, presidente de la Asamblea Nacional; el general Joaquín Quintas Solá; Eugenio Armando Rabilero Aguilera; Raúl Villar Kessell; Rosabel Gamón Verde y José Miguel Gómez del Vallín.

Además de las nuevas incorporaciones, el Departamento del Tesoro actualizó sanciones ya existentes contra organismos de seguridad cubanos, entre ellos el Ministerio del Interior y la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria.

Washington también modificó registros vinculados a Oscar Alejandro Callejas Valcarce y Eddy Manuel Sierra Arias, funcionarios asociados a la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria, quienes quedaron nuevamente vinculados a sanciones bajo la orden ejecutiva “CUBA-EO14404”.

En paralelo, la OFAC publicó este lunes la Licencia General 134C, un documento que actualiza y reemplaza una autorización anterior relacionada con operaciones petroleras vinculadas a crudo y derivados de origen ruso cargados antes del 17 de abril de 2026. El texto establece que determinadas transacciones podrán continuar hasta el 17 de junio de 2026, pero excluye expresamente cualquier operación relacionada con Cuba.

El documento oficial señala que la licencia “no autoriza ninguna transacción que involucre a una persona ubicada o constituida bajo las leyes de la República de Cuba”. También aclara que quedan prohibidas actividades relacionadas con Irán, Corea del Norte y regiones ocupadas de Ucrania.

La actualización normativa lleva la firma de Bradley T. Smith, director de la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros, y entró en vigor el 18 de mayo de 2026.

El anuncio de las sanciones se produjo un día después de que el dictador cubano Miguel Díaz-Canel advirtiera que cualquier acción militar estadounidense contra la isla provocaría un “baño de sangre” y tendría consecuencias “incalculables” para la estabilidad regional.

“Cuba no representa una amenaza”, escribió Díaz-Canel en la red social X, en respuesta a versiones sobre presuntos planes militares atribuidos a La Habana.

Las declaraciones surgieron luego de reportes sobre supuestas discusiones vinculadas a drones militares y posibles objetivos estadounidenses en la región. Desde La Habana rechazaron esas acusaciones y aseguraron que se intenta construir un argumento para justificar una eventual intervención.

La situación económica cubana también agravó el escenario político interno. Tras la interrupción de suministros energéticos procedentes de Venezuela luego de la captura de Nicolás Maduro en enero, la isla enfrenta una severa escasez de combustible y cortes eléctricos prolongados.

En distintos puntos de la capital cubana, residentes expresaron su preocupación por el aumento de la confrontación entre ambos países. “Cuba responderá”, afirmó Sandra Roseaux, una habitante de 57 años citada por medios internacionales. “Mi país, con hambre o como esté, va a responder”.

Otro residente, Ulises Medina, pidió negociaciones directas para evitar un conflicto. “Tienen que llegar a un acuerdo y conversar”, sostuvo.

Las tensiones también aumentaron después de versiones sobre una posible acusación judicial en Estados Unidos contra Raúl Castro por el derribo de avionetas de la organización “Hermanos al Rescate” en 1996.

(Con información de AFP, EFE y Reuters)

The Department of Justice charged a California woman with paying people — including homeless individuals on Los Angeles’ Skid Row — to register to vote while she worked as a paid ballot-petition signature collector, according to federal prosecutors.

«False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,» assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release Monday. 

«This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling – so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence,» Dhillon added.

MARYLAND BALLOT BLUNDER TRIGGERS GOP PUSH FOR FEDERAL REVIEW OF BLUE STATE’S VOTER ROLLS

Marina del Rey resident «Anika» Brenda Lee Armstrong, 64, solicited signatures for official ballot initiatives, including in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles, often paying people between $2 and $3, according to DOJ. 

She was charged with one felony count of paying another person to register to vote and agreed to plead guilty, according to the DOJ. Armstrong made her initial court appearance Monday. 

CALIFORNIA WOMAN FACING FELONY CHARGES FOR REGISTERING HER DOG TO VOTE, CASTING 2 BALLOTS

Armstrong was charged with a felony count of paying another person to register to vote in which she could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Armstrong worked as a «petition circulator» for approximately 20 years, and would receive payment for each registered voter’s signature, according to her plea agreement.

The amount she was paid varied depending on the specific ballot initiative. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ to clarify which initiatives and groups Armstrong was soliciting for and how much she was paid.

Many members of Skid Row’s homeless population were not registered to vote, so prosecutors said Armstrong brought voter registration forms with her and began offering payment to people to complete them.

Prosecutors said Armstrong sometimes provided homeless individuals with her former Los Angeles address to list on voter registration forms, which registered them to vote in both California and federal elections.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS LAUNCH VOTER ID BALLOT PUSH, NEED 875K SIGNATURES BY DEADLINE

«False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,» said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

California automatically sends vote-by-mail ballots to every registered voter, with prosecutors saying ballots in some individuals’ names could potentially have been sent to Armstrong’s former residence, where those individuals did not live or collect mail.

Armstrong was charged with a felony count of paring another person to register to vote in which she could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

Investigative reporter James O’Keefe took a victory lap over the indictment, citing O’Keefe Media Group first captured footage of the alleged scheme on Skid Row.

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Homeless people are eligible to register to vote so long as they have a location where mail can be received and «be properly assigned to a voting precinct,» according to the California Secretary of State.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of the California governor and state attorney general for additional comment on the matter on Monday. 

Rescuers located the bodies of four Italian divers deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives, days after the group vanished during a dangerous dive far beyond recreational limits, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Officials said Finnish cave-diving specialists found the bodies in the innermost section of the cave system in Vaavu Atoll, where the divers disappeared Thursday while exploring at a depth of about 160 feet. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 98 feet.

«As was previously thought, the four bodies were found inside the cave, not only inside the cave but well inside the cave into the third segment of the cave, which is the largest part,» Maldives government spokesman Ahmed Shaam said, adding the victims were found «pretty much together.»

The Thinwana Kandu cave system where the bodies were found is known locally as «shark cave.»

RESCUE OPERATION FREES INJURED MAN TRAPPED 130 FEET UNDERGROUND IN ITALIAN CAVE

Recovery crews plan to retrieve two bodies Tuesday and the remaining two the following day, officials said.

The discovery came after authorities resumed the search following the death of a Maldivian military diver involved in the rescue mission. Mohamed Mahdi died Saturday from decompression sickness after attempting to reach the trapped divers.

Mohamed Mahdi, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died from decompression sickness during the dangerous mission, officials said. (Maldives National Defense Force)

A fifth Italian diver, identified earlier as a diving instructor, was previously found dead outside the cave.

BAGPIPER DIES DOING POPULAR VACATION ATTRACTION DAYS BEFORE MISSING SON’S REMAINS FOUND IN BACKYARD TREEHOUSE

The specialized Finnish team used advanced closed-circuit rebreather systems, allowing for longer and deeper dives in the cave’s confined environment.

Divers prepare to search for four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, on May 15, 2026. (Maldives President’s Media Division/AP)

Rough seas and hazardous underwater conditions repeatedly delayed search efforts as crews mapped and marked the cave entrance before pushing deeper inside.

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Authorities continue to investigate the situation and what led to the divers’ deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.