Cuba objects to the U.S. government's recent sanctions against companies for violating the 51-year-old economic and financial embargo against the island nation. A Foreign Ministry statement published Tuesday noted last week's settlement in which American Express agreed to pay $5.2 million because of more than 14,000 tickets it issued for travel between Cuba and other countries. The statement also said that Intesa SanPaolo paid a fine of nearly $3 million June 28 after the U.S. Treasury Department determined that the Italian bank had processed 53 financial transfers involving Cuba between 2004 and 2008. The Foreign Ministry accused Washington of repeatedly "making absurd concessions" to the Cuban exile lobby.
