The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the Cuban defense minister and a military division affiliated with the country's Interior Ministry.

Iran PressAmerica: The US Treasury Department announced on Thursday that it had added Cuban Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and the Special National Brigade (SNB), an office of Cuba's interior ministry, to its sanctions list.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Cuba's Secretary of Defense and Interior Ministry Special National Brigade, claiming their involvement in a crackdown on protests on the island earlier in July.

The United States has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Cuban-affiliated individuals and entities under various pretexts.

Cuba has been subject to unilateral sanctions over the past six decades for opposing US intervention.

Washington's hostile stance against Havana has been criticized by the international community. 

The United Nations has called on the United States in several resolutions to end sanctions and economic blockade of Cuba, But Washington has always ignored these resolutions. 219