Estados Unidos anunció este jueves sanciones contra el ministro de las Fuerzas Armadas cubano, general Álvaro López Miera, así como responsables y cinco empresas del sector industrial militar de la isla.

Los sancionados están implicados en «la adquisición y el mantenimiento de armas y equipo militar en el extranjero destinados a las fuerzas militares y de seguridad», explicó el comunicado del Departamento de Estado. Estados Unidos considera que Cuba es un Estado que «apoya el terrorismo».

Las sanciones alcanzan al ministro López Miera y a su viceministro Roberto Legrá, al que se acusa de estar involucrado en la compra de armamento ruso. También abarcan a altos funcionarios del ministerio.

Asimismo, fue sancionada la coronel Mónica Milián Gómez, agregada militar en la embajada en Moscú, que medios de comunicación en el exilio acusan de estar involucrada en el supuesto reclutamiento de cubanos para participar en la guerra contra Ucrania. Waldo Pérez Cortés, agregado militar en la embajada cubana en Beijing, también es sancionado.

La lista incluye a entidades como Tecnoimport, Duna, Unión de Industria Militar (UIM) y la empresa Yuri Gagarin, todas ellas especializadas en la compra y reparación de equipamiento militar.

Hace diez días, Estados Unidos había anunciado sanciones contra el ministro de Salud cubano, José Ángel Portal Miranda, y la red de brigadas médicas en el extranjero, la principal fuente de divisas del gobierno comunista.

Las sanciones también afectan a tres entidades cubanas del sector energético y a otras cuatro asociadas al conglomerado militar y empresarial Gaesa, algunas de las cuales habían cambiado de estatuto o habían sido transferidas para intentar evitar sanciones estadounidenses previas, explicó el Departamento de Estado en su comunicado.

El envío de brigadas médicas al extranjero constituye la principal fuente de ingreso de divisas del gobierno comunista de Cuba, con 7.000 millones de dólares en 2025, según cifras oficiales.

Para el año pasado, unos 24.000 médicos y otros profesionales cubanos de la salud trabajaban en 56 países.

Washington también castigó hace 20 días a las milicias populares cubanas, las brigadas de respuesta rápida y entidades oficiales o empresariales de la isla comunista, como parte de su campaña de presión económica.

El gobierno del presidente Donald Trump aplica desde enero un bloqueo petrolero contra la isla comunista que ha exacerbado los problemas energéticos y su crisis económica, la peor en décadas.

Las sanciones tienen como objetivo «los pilares interconectados» del aparato estatal y empresarial, explicó en su momento comunicado del Departamento de Estado.

En su calidad de «instrumentos de la represión», son sancionadas las milicias populares, dependientes del ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas, las Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida y la Asociación de Combatientes de la Revolución, así como la corporación Antex.

Además también fueron sancionados el ministerio de Turismo, los grupos empresariales Gecomex, Caudal o Gemar, así como Enetec y Coreydan, ambas empresas del sector de importación y exportación de combustible.

Todas estas entidades ven confiscados sus bienes en Estados Unidos y se les prohíbe entablar relaciones comerciales con empresas o individuos en su territorio, así como el acceso a servicios financieros de cualquier tipo.

Varias de estas entidades están relacionadas con el conglomerado del ejército Gaesa, que es el principal gestor de la actividad económica en la isla.

Gaesa fue sometida a sanciones el 1 de mayo, y ya ha empezado a desprenderse de activos para intentar escapar a la presión económica.

En una nota explicativa por separado, el Departamento del Tesoro puntualizó que «no tiene la intención de perjudicar a personas no estadounidenses (…) por participar en transacciones que sean ordinariamente incidentales y necesarias para la liquidación de transacciones que involucren a GECOMEX, GEMAR o cualquier entidad en la que GECOMEX o GEMAR posean».

Between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta after hordes of mostly military-aged men rushed into the Spanish enclave from Morocco late last month, Ceuta’s president said Thursday.

While speaking from a video call during an extraordinary session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas also revealed around 100 people died during the surge.

Authorities estimate roughly 80,000 migrants rushed into the territory within a 48-hour period in late July.

Vivas called the border crisis an «invasion» and «one of the most difficult moments in the recent history of our city.»

«According to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, an ‘invasion’ should be understood in its second definition as the abnormal or irregular occupation of a specific place,» Vivas said, according to a Fox News Digital translation of his remarks, which he gave in Spanish.

AT LEAST 72 DEAD AMID MASS MIGRANT RUSH TO STORM SPANISH ENCLAVE OF CEUTA SPARKING BORDER CRISIS

«That is precisely what occurred on July 30 and 31, when approximately 80,000 people — equivalent to the entire population of Ceuta — stormed into our city. This characterization, moreover, aligns with the statement made by the President of the Government of Spain, who on Friday the 31st, during his visit to Ceuta, stated that we were facing an attack, a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,» Vivas continued.

Echoing previous claims from Spain’s leftist President Pedro Sánchez and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Vivas acknowledged roughly 75,000 of the migrants had returned to Morocco but added «under no circumstances does it allow us to claim that our city has returned to normal.»

«Ceuta has not returned to normal because between 3,000 and 5,000 people who entered during those fateful days of July 30 and 31 still remain,» Vivas said. «The reception centers for adult and minor migrants are in a state of collapse, turning the influx into a major humanitarian emergency.»

«Added to this are disruptions to public order and a high risk to public safety,» he continued. «Furthermore, the morale of Ceuta’s residents is severely affected. Our population feels sad, helpless, uneasy, fearful, and worried — and with good reason. It is inevitable to wonder whether this will happen again, and if that next time will be the definitive plunge into the abyss, causing us to cease being what we are: Spain and Europe. It has been exposed to the world that we are extraordinarily vulnerable, and that our security and integrity are in the hands of a third country, Morocco, which does not recognize our sovereignty.»

Migrants wait outside Ceuta’s temporary migrant center (CETI), which is currently at full capacity, following mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory, in Ceuta, Spain, Aug. 3, 2026. (Pedro Nunes/Reuters)

He then proposed a set of actions authorities should take to return the city to normal. The proposals included expelling the remaining Moroccan migrants, provisioning more resources for the city’s migrant facilities, and the implementation of a new economic model which he called on to be «More Spain and More Europe.»

CEUTA MIGRANT SURGE EXPOSES SPAIN-MOROCCO TENSIONS AS ISLAMIST GROUPS REPORTEDLY SEEK TO EXPLOIT BORDER CRISIS

«We serve a society that has forged its character through courage to endure and the ability to overcome adversity. We are confident it will do so again, though I emphasize that the requested support from European authorities remains indispensable. Thank you very much,» Vivas concluded.

Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas seen during a meeting at the Consolat de Mar on Aug. 6, 2026, in Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. The meeting takes place just one week after the unprecedented migration crisis at the border between Ceuta and Morocco. (Javier Fernandez/Europa Press via Getty Images)

Following the border rush between July 30-31, Sánchez called the incident «an attack, a violation of the territorial integrity of Spain.»

Fox News Digital contacted the governments of Spain and Ceuta for additional comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Republican-led House Committee on Education and Workforce is demanding financial records from five of the nation’s largest labor unions over allegations that union leaders used funds to support Democratic candidates and progressive causes while spending millions on lavish perks.

In letters obtained by Fox News Digital and sent Thursday, the lawmakers on the committee requested financial records dating back to January 2023 from the United Auto Workers (UAW), United Steelworkers (USW), SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD), Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED).

«Unions are supposed to be representing workers for their best interests on the job site, for their future goals that they have, and to work together in a commonality that speaks for, I think, in general, all of the workers combined and not just select portions of it,» Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who also serves as the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, told Fox News Digital.

«When we see funds that have been used by multiple unions for highly political purposes, and you begin to see that the rank and file aren’t following along with the same political funding purposes of union leadership, common sense says you ought to take a look at it.»

EXPLOSIVE REPORT UNEARTHS PROMINENT UNION MONEY TRAIL LABELED A ‘STUNNING BETRAYAL’ OF MAGA MEMBERS

Multiple reports cited in the letters, including previous Fox News Digital reporting on BMWED’s political spending, allege union leaders spent millions supporting Democratic candidates and progressive causes while also spending heavily on conferences, travel, entertainment and other expenses.

The UAW had the highest reported totals, with nearly $95 million in political spending and nearly $146 million spent on travel and entertainment.

The requests also seek records on lobbying, executive pay, travel, entertainment and conference expenses, along with member complaints, ethics and audit policies, transfers to larger labor organizations, and the use of union funds to cover expenses for spouses, family members, guests or political allies.

The lawmakers argue there is a growing disconnect between union leadership and members, saying many rank-and-file workers have «increasingly supported President Trump and other Republican candidates in recent election cycles.»

«I think it comes down to the leader’s own self-interest,» Walberg said. «That could be political interest, or that could be self-aggrandizement, or in certain cases looks like for monetary purposes, for their own personal benefit.»

In the letters, the lawmakers said that workers «deserve transparency regarding how their dues are spent, the extent to which union leadership consults members before endorsing candidates or engaging in political activities, and whether differing viewpoints within the union are being respected.»

FRUSTRATED BLUE-COLLAR UNION BOSSES RIP SOCIALIST POLITICIANS, WARN OF LABOR EXODUS FROM DEM PARTY

Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan speaks during a House Workforce and Education Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025. (OLIVER CONTRERAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Walberg said the committee is examining how some unions spend dues collected under «mandatory membership policies.»

«We have responsibility in our committee for oversight on what goes on in the workplace, what goes in those that represent workers in the work place on both sides of the equation, whether it’s the employer or the union,» he said.

But Walberg said union leaders still face questions about serving workers’ best interests.

«There have been union leaders who have gone to jail and certainly been prosecuted over misuse of funds,» he said. «There seems to be indication that that still is going on in certain major unions.»

Insisting «this is not to be a partisan political motivated effort,» Walberg said the committee’s role is oversight and that evidence uncovered during the investigation could still be referred to the Justice Department.

«We do not have prosecutorial powers,» he said. «We can’t put anybody in jail. We can call for information, and ultimately call for union leadership to come before our committee and answer questions.»

SOURCES CORROBORATE WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS OF CORRUPTION, QUID PRO QUO CULTURE INSIDE POWERFUL NYC UNION

Supporters hold up signs during a campaign event for U.S. President Donald Trump at Xtreme Manufacturing on Sept. 13, 2020, in Henderson, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The unions were asked to respond by Aug. 17, with the UAW receiving a separate Aug. 18 deadline.

«The committee will continue examining whether current labor law adequately protects workers from political coercion and whether additional transparency requirements are warranted,» according to the letters.

The letters added that the unions’ responses will assist «in determining whether any legislative changes are warranted,» arguing unions have a legal duty to fairly represent members and that workers «should not be compelled to subsidize political advocacy fundamentally at odds with their beliefs or interests.»

Walberg said the investigation is «for a purpose,» one he hopes will hold union leaders accountable.

«I hope that will be very apparent and transparent that we are concerned about the rank-and-file union member who in most cases had no choice about their contributions but should have a clear understanding and the ability to react to that understanding about how their funds are being used for political, cultural, you name it, purposes and have their union leadership brought to light,» he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the UAW, USW, SMART-TD, BLET and BMWED for comment. BMWED declined to comment, while the other unions did not respond by publication.