The State Department imposed new sanctions Thursday against the Cuban regime and Chinese-based suppliers that help equip the island nation's military forces.

The move is part of the economic pressure that the Trump administration is attempting to push on Cuba to force political change, even as it battles economic and energy crises. 

The State Department is hoping to use the new sanctions to expand its reach to target new sectors of Cuba’s economy, including electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology.

"Cuba’s ruling elite is hoarding the island’s energy, shipping, and technology resources for its own enrichment, leaving the Cuban people to contend with blackouts, shortages, and a stagnant economy," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

The sanctions target two people and eight entities, including China National Electronic Import and Export Company and Beijing H&C Technologies. The two individuals are Guillermo Faustino Rodriguez Lopez Calleja and Any Rodriguez Lastres.

Lastres is the daughter of the previously designated Grupo de Administración Empresarial President Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera. 

"The Trump administration will not stand by while the Cuban regime funnels the island’s resources to its military elite, while regime insiders and their family members profit from opaque offshore networks, and while Cuba continues to serve as a staging ground for a global coalition of hostile anti-American actors to threaten, spy on, and plot against the United States and its interests," Rubio said.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.