The US State Department has designated four high-ranking officials from the Cuban regime for their egregious human rights abuses, including the arbitrary detention and prosecution of peaceful activists.
Judges and prosecutors who are part of the regime's apparatus, rather than serving as independent judges, play a critical role in these unlawful detentions and trials. These individuals are responsible for sham legal processes that unjustly target, convict, and sentence individuals for expressing their views or engaging in activism peacefully. This includes the re-arrest of political prisoners who were returned to jail on flimsy grounds, such as José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro.
The Department has designated prosecutor Yanaisa Matos Legrá and judges Gladys Maria Padrón Canals, Maria Elena Fornari Conde, and Juan Sosa Orama, all of whom work at the People's Provincial Court of Havana. These officials oversaw the prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of Luis Robles Elizástigui on behalf of the regime.
The designation is a clear indication that the Trump Administration remains committed to holding accountable those responsible for human rights abuses in Cuba. The US will continue to use all available tools to support the human rights of the Cuban people and encourages its allies and partners to do the same.
The designation was made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025.