Cuba suffering from an energy crisis [AFP=Yonhap News]

The Donald Trump administration has further intensified pressure on Cuba, which is currently reeling from an energy crisis.

The U.S. State Department announced on the 13th (local time) that it has designated 10 entities, including Enertec and Corporación Cuba Petróleo (CUPET)—state-run enterprises involved in fuel import and export—as targets for sanctions.

State-owned Cuban companies in the shipping, trade, and insurance & finance sectors were also added to the sanctions list.

Additionally, the State Department stated that it is sanctioning Cuba's civilian paramilitary groups, organizations that monitor dissidents, and civilian police forces.

The State Department explained that the reasons for the sanctions are "state-run enterprises and armed civilian groups that funnel revenue to the [Cuban] regime and paramilitary organizations, as well as surveillance groups that repress the Cuban people."

Entities subject to these sanctions will have their assets within the United States frozen, and foreign institutions that engage in transactions with them may be subject to secondary sanctions.

Given that the sanctioned list includes entities related to energy imports, the move appears intended to exert pressure on the regime by exacerbating Cuba's energy shortage.

Since U.S. sanctions intensified, Cuba has experienced four nationwide blackouts this year. The country is facing a severe fuel shortage as energy supplies from its ally Venezuela have been cut off and the U.S. has blocked its oil imports.