The U.S. Department of Commerce has designated Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro as "hostile" countries, according to a decree issued today, Thursday.
The department's statement, published on its website, states: "The decree provides sustainability and confidence in the information and communications technology supply chain, and for its implementation, it identifies six foreign governments or non-governmental entities as 'hostile,' namely China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro." Additionally, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said, "We cannot allow the military intelligence structures of competing countries such as Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and other nations supporting terrorism to benefit from U.S. technology and services to support their destabilizing activities." According to the report from "Al Alam Channel," he added, "These new strict controls will prevent the Chinese intelligence office and Russian military intelligence from using U.S. technology and services to support espionage, information gathering, and other activities that conflict with U.S. national security interests."
