| The Cuban government on Thursday denounced as a violation of international law the record $8.97 billion fine Washington imposed on French bank BNP Paribas for violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba. President Barack Obama's administration has now levied more than $11 billion in penalties on dozens of entities that ran afoul of Washington's various sanctions regimes, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement. BNP Paribas agreed this week to pay the massive fine and plead guilty to conducting unauthorized transactions. In exchange, the U.S. Treasury and Justice Departments will terminate their probe of the bank. The Paris-based financial institution had little choice but to reach a settlement, as exclusion from the U.S. financial and banking system would have been a devastating blow. The fine "violates the norms of international law and qualifies as an extraterritorial and illegal application of U.S. legislation against a foreign entity," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said. The ministry also suggested that the episode should gave France and its partners in the European Union pause amid negotiations on a U.S.-EU trade pact. Washington continues to ignore both the "overwhelming international rejection" of the embargo against Cuba and growing calls within the United States for a different approach toward Havana, the foreign ministry said. EFE |