WASHINGTON D.C August 20, 2026 — The United States on Thursday designated three senior officials of Cuba’s Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and nine state-linked entities, including the Ministry of Construction, as part of intensified economic pressure on the Cuban government.
The actions, announced by the State Department under Executive Order 14404 issued by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, target individuals and organizations accused of supporting the regime’s repressive apparatus and alleged subversive activities against the United States.
The three ICAP leaders sanctioned are:
- Fernando González Llort, president of ICAP and one of the so-called “Cuban Five.” He previously served 15 years in a U.S. prison for his role in the Wasp Network, a Cuban intelligence operation uncovered in Florida in the late 1990s, before being released to Cuba in 2014.
- Noemí Ramona Rabaza Fernández, first vice-president of ICAP.
- Leima Martínez Freire, ICAP’s North America director.
ICAP itself had already been designated earlier under the same executive order as an instrumentality of the Cuban government. U.S. officials say the organization has long coordinated international “brigades” under the guise of educational and cultural exchanges that allegedly serve Cuban intelligence and influence operations. The State Department noted that facilities used by ICAP—including Campamento Internacional Julio Antonio Mella, Casa Memorial Salvador Allende, and Casa de la Amistad—are to be treated as sanctioned property.
In a statement, the State Department linked the latest measures to a recent Cuban effort to revive these networks around the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth, describing them as part of a decades-long campaign of “subversive anti-American activities.”
The nine entities designated include several operating in metals, mining, construction, and foreign trade:
- Ministry of Construction of Cuba (MICONS)
- Empresa de Níquel Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara (nickel and cobalt extraction and processing)
- Empresa Importadora Exportadora y Comercializadora de Metales (MetalCuba)
- Grupo Empresarial Geominero Salinero (Geominsal)
- Acinox Comercial
- Agencia de Contratación a Representaciones Comerciales S.A. (ACOREC S.A.)
- Coratur S.A.
- Empresa Central de Abastecimiento y Ventas de Equipos de Transporte Pesado y Sus Piezas (Transimport)
- Empresa Comercializadora de Artículos en General (Consumimport)
These companies and the ministry are accused of helping generate revenue that sustains the Cuban government’s security and political apparatus. The inclusion of the Ministry of Construction marks the first time that government body has been placed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals list.
All property and interests in property of the designated persons and entities that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. Entities owned 50 percent or more by the newly designated parties are also considered blocked.
OFAC issued guidance allowing foreign persons a limited wind-down period through September 19, 2026, for transactions involving the Ministry of Construction, though U.S. persons remain fully restricted under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.
The designations form part of a broader Trump administration campaign under E.O. 14404 aimed at restricting the Cuban regime’s access to resources in key economic sectors and countering what Washington describes as threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy. Officials have indicated further actions are expected.
Cuba has long condemned U.S. sanctions as an economic blockade that harms ordinary citizens. No immediate official response from Havana was available at the time of publication.
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