U.S. President Trump (Eaton AFP=Yonhap News)

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the 1st (local time) to expand sanctions against the Cuban government, Reuters reported, citing two White House officials.

The new sanctions target individuals, groups, and related entities that support the Cuban government's security-related sectors or engage in corruption or serious human rights abuses. Government officials, agents, and supporters of the government are also included, Reuters reported.

A Trump administration official claimed that the Cuban government is linked to Iran and Hezbollah (a pro-Iranian armed group in Lebanon) and has provided a permissive environment for foreign hostile intelligence, military, and terrorist operations targeting the U.S. mainland.

Reuters noted that it was not immediately confirmed which specific entities and individuals were subject to the sanctions.

Furthermore, the executive order includes so-called 'secondary sanctions' that penalize third parties who engage in or facilitate transactions with those targeted by the sanctions.

President Trump, who advocates for a "Donroism" (a Trump version of 19th-century Monroe Doctrine) aimed at strengthening influence in the Western Hemisphere (the Americas and surrounding areas), extradited Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who were anti-American leaders, to the U.S. in January by deploying military force to Venezuela. He had also repeatedly stated that Cuba would be the "next in line" after Iran, which began its war at the end of February.

In addition, President Trump imposed additional U.S. tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba, causing an energy crisis for Cuba, and also declared that he could take steps toward a friendly approach to Cuba.