U.S. unleashes new sanctions on top Cuban leaders with more expected in "following days, weeks"

Tensions between the United States and Cuba continue to grow after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on several Cuban senior government officials, and the nation's leader is firing back.

Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel responded just hours after news of the sanctions broke, lashing out to the U.S. government saying no one in the Cuban government or military institutions has assets or property protected under U.S. jurisdiction.

Among the top Cuban officials hit by the new sanctions are the president of the National Assembly as well as the ministers of communications, mines and energy and justice.

Several people working for the armed forces, including the deputy minister of defense and three generals were also hit with the sanctions, as well as the minister of interior, the National Revolutionary Police and the Director of Intelligence.

"For more than 60 years, the Cuban regime has prioritized its Communist ideology and personal wealth over the well-being of its own citizens while allowing for the exploitation of Cuba for foreign intelligence, military, and terror operations," the State Department said in a statement. "The United States will continue to take action to counter the Cuban regime, those furthering its goals, and those abroad enabling the elites to profit while the Cuban people suffer."

The sanctions are usually are used against drug traffickers, terrorists and human rights violators – freezing any property and bank accounts they may have in the U.S.

In a statement on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions "restrict the Cuban regime's ability to suppress the will of the Cuban people."

He also said that additional sanctions actions are expected "in the following days and weeks."