Rubio sanctions Cuban groups with ties to US nonprofit network funded by communist donor Neville Roy Singham

U.S. Targets Cuban Friendship Organization with New Sanctions Amid Investigation into American Nonprofits

The State Department announced sweeping sanctions Friday against a Cuban organization that has spent more than six decades building relationships with American activists, targeting an entity it says operates as an arm of Havana's intelligence apparatus.

The sanctions designate the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, known by its Spanish acronym ICAP, as off-limits to American organizations and individuals. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the action targets what he described as a cornerstone of Cuba's efforts to cultivate and support radical movements across the Western Hemisphere.

"For decades, Cuba has been the world capital for radical left-wing terrorism," Rubio said in a statement. "The regime in Havana has recruited, trained and backed violent Marxist and third-worldist movements across our hemisphere and beyond."

The designation was issued under authorities established by President Trump's Cuba executive order. ICAP was among five entities added to the sanctions list, along with Cuba's Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, a state-run mining company, and a tourism firm that has arranged travel for American nonprofit groups.

Rubio warned that the action carries implications beyond the designated Cuban entities.

"Anyone providing services to these sanctioned actors is at risk of sanctions themselves," he said. "Foreign banks and other companies that provide services to these entities should freeze those activities."

The sanctions come as federal investigators examine a network of American nonprofits that have worked closely with ICAP. Prosecutors and Treasury officials are investigating whether organizations with collective revenues of roughly $1 billion have coordinated on behalf of foreign interests without proper registration. Much of the funding in question traces to Neville Roy Singham, a tech entrepreneur who has lived in Shanghai and directed more than $285 million to progressive organizations since 2017.

Singham is married to Jodie Evans, a co-founder of the activist group CodePink, which is among the organizations under scrutiny.

One focus of the federal investigation is a delegation trip to Cuba organized this March. The convoy included Hasan Piker, a prominent online commentator, and was coordinated through American nonprofits including CodePink, the People's Forum, and Progressive International. CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin confirmed she has fielded questions from federal officials about the trip and whether participants violated sanctions.

During the March visit, Progressive International co-founder David Adler appeared alongside Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and ICAP President Fernando González Llort at an official event.

González Llort is a notable figure in the history of U.S.-Cuba tensions. He was one of five Cubans known as the "Cuban Five," convicted in American courts on espionage-related charges. The group spent years in U.S. prison before being released and returning to Cuba, where González Llort now leads ICAP.

The organization was founded by Fidel Castro in 1960, one year after he seized power, to spread Marxist ideology and build international support for the Cuban revolution. Declassified intelligence reports from the Cold War era identified ICAP as a key instrument in Havana's strategy to cultivate sympathetic political movements abroad and extend Cuban influence beyond the island.

One of the most enduring programs linking American activists to the Cuban government has been the Venceremos Brigade, established in 1969 to bring visitors to the island for exchanges organized through Cuban institutions including ICAP. The brigade became a pipeline introducing generations of American supporters to Cuban revolutionary culture and politics. It continues to operate today as a project of the People's Forum, one of the nonprofits named in federal investigations.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who participated in Venceremos Brigade trips years ago, has denied any wrongdoing. Her connection to the program resurfaced during her mayoral campaign.

The Cuban government swiftly condemned the sanctions. President Díaz-Canel accused the United States of escalating economic pressure and seeking to inflame tensions between the two countries.

"The Treasury Department has added new names of Cuban leaders, organizations and companies to an illegitimate sanctions list," Díaz-Canel wrote on social media. "They are aimed at reinforcing the blockade measures and the scenario of conflict between Cuba and the United States."

ICAP has denied engaging in wrongdoing, describing itself as a civil society organization that fosters international understanding through cultural and educational exchanges.

The State Department said the sanctions reflect a broader effort to disrupt influence channels that U.S. officials believe have allowed Cuba to project power and promote its ideological agenda internationally, long after the Cold War ended.