Assistant Secretary Riley Barnes

Substack from @SecRubio: A Salute to America READ: statedept.substack.com/p/a-salute-to-…

We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nicaraguan Bishop Abelardo Mata who has been arbitrarily detained by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship. 80-year old Bishop Mata poses no threat to the regime and his health is fragile. We further condemn the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship’ continued cruel religious persecution and repression. The attacks on religious freedom must stop.

Dhrungkar Tashi Delek (འཁྲུངས་སྐར་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས།) to His Holiness @DalaiLama on his 91st birthday. As U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, I will continue to promote the unalienable rights and aspirations of Tibetans to celebrate and preserve their distinct culture, language, and religion.

For 250 years, America has been the greatest nation on Earth — and with God’s grace, it will be for 250 more. Happy Independence Day!

"A civilization sure of itself builds things. It defends its people. It leads in the industries that decide the future." Speaking from London ahead of America's 250th, DRL DAS Samuel Samson discusses the importance of the US-UK special relationship and the need to restore civilizational self-confidence on both sides of the Atlantic @theammind. gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%…

Jonathan Muir, the Cuban teenager imprisoned after the protests in Morón, has been released from prison Full story in the first reply 👇

The United States is leading the fight against human trafficking and the criminals who profit from it.  The Department of State is seeking partners to help us fight this heinous crime and keep American interests safe. New opportunities are now open. Search on Grants.gov for: DFOP0018775 (CPC), DFOP0018774 (TIP), DFOP0018770 (PEMS). Apply now.

The situation in Cuba is devolving as the island’s corrupt, brutal and anti-American Communist regime continues to prioritize its own total control over the freedom, opportunity and basic wellbeing of the Cuban people. The Cuban military-controlled conglomerate GAESA has persistently served as the main vector for regime elites to steal the island’s few resources, diverting them for repression, anti-American subversion and spying instead of schools, power plants, and basic necessities for the Cuban people. Today, I designated additional GAESA network entities associated with moving both its money and its physical assets, as well as entities responsible for exploiting Cuba’s mineral and metal reserves for ill-gotten profit. Anyone providing services to these sanctioned actors is at risk of being sanctioned themselves. Foreign banks and other companies that provide services to these entities should freeze those activities immediately.

The U.S. welcomes the meeting today between Jorge Rodriguez as President of the National Assembly (AN) of 2026 and representative of the Venezuelan Interim Government, and 2015 Venezuelan National Assembly President Dinorah Figuera to discuss an agenda that will serve as the roadmap for a political dialogue on a democratic transition.

Today marks three months since 16-year-old Jonathan David Muir Burgos was sent to a maximum-security Cuban prison, supposedly for participating in a demonstration. He urgently needs medical attention and has not received it. No person - especially no child - should be imprisoned for their political or religious views. We call on the Cuban regime to immediately release him and all unjustly detained political prisoners.

Цієї ночі Росія атакувала християнську святиню - собор XI ст в Києві, а також забрала життя п’ятьох рятувальників у Харкові. Я на власні очі побачила руйнування унікальної історичної памʼятки в Києво-Печерській лаврі. Також були удари по житлових будинках, внаслідок яких було госпіталізовано дорослих і дітей. Атаки проти мирних жителів і християнських святинь є неприйнятними. Це жахливе насильство має припинитися, а війна повинна закінчитися. Посол Девіс

It was an honor to visit the Republic of Korea to reaffirm our ironclad alliance, advance key human rights priorities in North Korea, and encourage the ROK government to recommit to protecting freedom of expression and religious liberty. I look forward to continuing this important work together.

Thank you to @twtNKDB for the tour of the “Her Day in North Korea” exhibit, where we learned how the DPRK regime controls the everyday lives of North Koreans. The United States will continue to shine a spotlight on the regime’s pervasive human rights abuses.

Choi Jinyoung’s father, Choi Chun-gil, has been unjustly detained by the DPRK for more than a decade. The Choi family’s story is a powerful reminder that the tearing apart of families is not an isolated issue – from Korean-American divided families, those abducted from the ROK and Japan, to American POWs whose remains have yet to return home.  The United States will never forget those left behind and is committed to resolving these cases.

Today is Dr. Gulshan Abbas’s 8th birthday in detention on unfounded charges.  The CCP must stop its acts of transnational repression and attempts to silence U.S. citizens through coercion and intimidation and release Dr. Abbas so she can reunite with her family.

Today, I am sanctioning Cuba’s state-owned energy company, Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), under President Trump’s EO 14404. Cuba’s Communist elites have weaponized energy as a tool of social control and kleptocratic profit. For decades, the regime has stolen and hoarded available fuel — using it for the Castros’ private jet, the security services forces used to repress the Cuban people, to keep empty tourist hotels lit up, and to bus people in for fake protests and political stunts — all while the Cuban people have suffered blackouts and waited weeks to fill their cars. President Trump wants a new future for the Cuban people with greater economic and political freedom and opportunity. Until then, we will continue to target the Communist regime’s ability to leverage its energy trade to further its corrupt agenda and violently repress the Cuban people.

The Murillo-Ortega dictatorship is an enemy of humanity. The Trump Administration will not ignore their crimes and brutality, including the dictatorship’s singular role in the death of political opposition leader Brooklyn Rivera. Today, @StateDept took steps to impose visa restrictions on over 100 Nicaraguan officials who continue to carry out Murillo and Ortega’s malign agenda.

Great to host Assistant Secretary @StateDRL during his visit to Mongolia. We are committed to supporting Mongolia’s progress in strengthening democracy, human rights, and religious freedom.

Thank you to His Eminence Khamba Lama D. Javzandorj for his warm hospitality as I visited the beautiful Gandan Monastery — the Center of Mongolian Buddhism.

Had meaningful conversations with religious leaders representing multiple faith groups about their experiences in Mongolia.