The US government imposed new sanctions on Fidel Ernesto Castro, the grandson of former President Raúl Castro, and Cuba's Oil Industry Supply Import Company (Abapet) on Thursday. ^[1] Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga blamed the US government for the country's complex situation, stating that the blockade is a genocide. ^[2] Sanctions expert Brett Erickson stated that the US aims to push Cuba's critical machinery offline to exacerbate the energy crisis and that the Trump administration seeks a toppling of the regime. ^[3] The sanctioned entity Abapet is responsible for importing special equipment and spare parts needed to sustain Cuba's crumbling power grid. ^[4] Abapet, the state-owned company responsible for importing supplies for Cuba's oil industry, was sanctioned to disrupt the maintenance of the island's deteriorated electrical grid. ^[5] Daily power outages in Cuba now exceed 24 hours due to an obsolete electrical grid and decreased fuel reserves, a situation aggravated by US tariff threats. ^[6] Fidel Ernesto Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raul Castro, was specifically named among those sanctioned by the US. ^[7]