US authorities have imposed sanctions on Cuban Interior Minister Julio Cesar Gandarilla Bermejo, Reuters reports.

This is said in a statement released by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

He said the Cuban minister's name appeared on the sanctions list because Washington believes that he was involved in "gross violations of human rights in Venezuela."

From the US authorities' view, Gandarilla Bermejo is responsible for “arbitrarily arresting and detaining thousands of Cuban citizens and unlawfully incarcerating more than 100 political prisoners in Cuba.”

Sanctions are also imposed on two children of Julio Cesar. All three are banned from entry to the US.