Overview
- The State Department said Wednesday that Secretary Marco Rubio terminated the U.S. legal status of three Cuban nationals, including Carlos Antonio Lloga Dominguez, and that federal agents have taken them into custody pending removal.
- Rubio designated the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People, known as ICAP, under Executive Order 14404 earlier this month, which blocks ICAP property in the United States and bans most transactions with the group.
- The State Department described ICAP as a central node in a transnational Cuban intelligence and influence network and noted its president, Fernando González Llort, is a convicted member of the Wasp Network spy ring.
- News reports say the Justice Department and Treasury are investigating alleged coordination between ICAP and U.S. nonprofits and activists, and episodes such as CodePink’s convoy to Cuba have drawn federal questions, but no public criminal indictments tied to these actions have been announced.
- The detentions and sanctions put U.S. activist groups and foreign nationals tied to ICAP at greater risk of enforcement actions, and officials, lawyers, and advocates will be watching for deportation outcomes, Treasury licensing decisions, and any DOJ charges or subpoenas that follow.