U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Cruel Cuban Leader, Warns Modi and Shah of India
The increasing turmoil in India will have serious consequences for the entire world. In order to avert this fateful situation, the sanctions – including trade, travel, and transaction – on India and Indian leaders are inevitable.
By Rakesh Raman
The U.S. Department of State has designated Leopoldo Cintra Frias, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR), for gross violations of human rights.
The sanctions have been announced under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign government officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.
The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the public designation of Leopoldo Cintra Frias, the Department is also publicly designating his children, Deborah Cintra Gonzalez and Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez.
“Today we designate Cuba regime official Leopoldo Cintra Frias for his involvement in gross violations of human rights and use of violence to prop up the former Maduro regime in Venezuela. We will promote accountability for those who abuse human rights, wherever they may reside,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his tweet.
Today we designate #Cuba regime official Leopoldo Cintra Frias for his involvement in gross violations of human rights and use of violence to prop up the former Maduro regime in #Venezuela. We will promote accountability for those who abuse human rights, wherever they may reside.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 2, 2020
WARNING FOR INDIA
Pompeo’s strong assertion has come as a warning for Indian rulers – PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – who are promoting large-scale corruption and committing blatant human rights violations across the country.
Of late, the U.S. has warned both Modi and Shah that if they did not work in a democratic manner, they should be ready to face U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has indicated that it will begin by imposing travel ban on Modi and Shah.
Also, a bipartisan resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives has urged Modi government to ensure that any actions taken in pursuit of legitimate security priorities should respect the human rights of all people and adhere to international human rights law.
The resolution has come in view of the anti-Muslim laws introduced by the Modi government and nationwide protests against these laws.
Introduced by Democrat lawmaker Pramila Jayapal and her Republican colleague Steve Watkins on December 6, Resolution 745 has specified a number of steps that the Indian government must take.
It is being observed that the Modi government is trying to rule India by dividing people based on their castes and religions, while almost all ministers and bureaucrats in the government are clueless about different aspects of governance. Modi himself is also not quite educated and mostly keeps roaming aimlessly in different parts of the world.
Today, under Modi’s misrule, massive bureaucratic and political corruption, unemployment, lethal pollution, and human rights violations are happening in India. As a result, all the four pillars of democracy have collapsed in the country. The compromised judiciary, corrupt journalists, and spineless opposition leaders are allowing the Indian rulers to run the country in a dictatorial manner.
The voters have lost relevance while electronic voting machines (EVMs) are manipulated by the Indian rulers to win elections. Also, Modi’s BJP frequently purchases legislators in horse-trading deals to reverse the election results and form governments unscrupulously.
As a result of the despotic centralized control of Modi, the collapse of the Indian economy is quite visible. While rampant frauds are happening in banks, the NPAs of Indian banks have crossed the alarming limits.
Now banks are not allowing people to withdraw their own money deposited in banks. Extreme inflation is another irritant. Thus, India is in a state of civil unrest. The increasing turmoil in India will have serious consequences for the entire world, as mass migration is expected from India.
In order to avert this fateful situation, the sanctions – including trade, travel, and transaction – on India and Indian leaders are inevitable.
SANCTIONS ON CUBA
As Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, according to a State Department statement issued Thursday (January 2) Cintra Frias bears responsibility for Cuba’s actions to prop up the former Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Alongside Maduro’s military and intelligence officers, MINFAR has been involved in gross human rights violations and abuses in Venezuela, including torturing or subjecting Venezuelans to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment for their anti-Maduro stances.
Dismantling Venezuela’s democracy by terrifying Venezuelans into submission is the goal of MINFAR and the Cuban regime, the State Department statement added.
The international community can clearly see how fearful Cuba is of democracy – both for its own citizens and Venezuelans. “We strongly encourage other governments and international organizations to continue promoting accountability for the Cuban regime for its involvement in violations or abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba, Venezuela, and beyond,” the State Department advised in its statement.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
