Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
Today, I am announcing an update to the Cuba Restricted List to add five sub-entities owned by the Cuban military to the list of entities with which direct financial transactions are generally prohibited. On November 16th, Cuba commemorates Havana’s 500th anniversary. Havana was once one of the most dynamic and prosperous cities in the Americas. Far from being a celebration, this anniversary is instead a sad reminder of how the revolution continues to fail its people by commandeering Cuba’s economy, rather than reforming it to fulfill Cuba’s economic potential, and by forcefully silencing the voices of Cubans that continue the fight for freedom. The United States remains committed to ensuring U.S. funds do not directly support Cuba’s state security apparatus, which not only violates the human rights of the Cuban people, but also exports this repression to Venezuela to support the corrupt former Maduro regime.
In accordance with the June 2017 National Security Presidential Memorandum-5, “Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba,” the U.S. government generally prohibits direct financial transactions with listed entities and sub-entities because they would disproportionately benefit the Cuban military, intelligence, and security services or personnel at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba.
For more information on the regulations prohibiting direct financial transactions with entities and sub-entities on the Cuba Restricted List, please refer to the November 2017 regulatory amendments by the Departments of the Treasury (31 CFR part 515) and Commerce (15 CFR parts 730-774). The updated Cuba Restricted List can be found at https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list.