The U.S Office of Foreign Assets Control levied a US$2.20 million fine on a Swedish subsidiary of the chemical company Innospec Inc. for selling a gasoline additive to Cuba. 

The fine, levied this year, adds to a list of episodes related to the U.S. economic, commercial, and financial blockade of Cuba, which has a notorious extraterritorial nature. 

The blockade, about to turn 50 years old despite opposition from almost every country in the world, has caused Cuba some US$751.36 billion in losses. 

In the first semester of this year, OFAC sanctions for various companies rose to some US$2.22 million, punishment for violating a policy seen by many as irrational and outdated.

OFAC, a U.S. Treasury Department office, says it fined the companies for trading with Cuba and other countries in line with Washington's unilateral coercive measures.

And in similar developments, the FBI interrogated a dozen members of the Venceremos Solidarity Brigade afater they visited Cuba.

As part of the blockade, ships carrying goods from or to Cuba are not allowed to dock in U.S. ports, no matter the country in which they are registered. 

According to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, the blockade policy must be lifted unilaterally and unconditionally.