Photo Credit: by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times /  Vingtage American Auto-Taxi cruises along the road near the Malecón sea in Havana, CUBA. 

By Gary Raynaldo       DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

The United States Government announced  Wednesday the addition of seven new subentities including  financial institution FINCIMEX  to the Cuba Restricted List. 

“These seven subentities disproportionately benefit the Castro dictatorship, a regime which uses the profits from these businesses to oppress the Cuban people and to fund its interference in Venezuela, at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba.”

-U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo 

“Among the seven subentities are one military-controlled financial institution, three military-owned hotels, two military-owned scuba diving centers, and one military-owned marine park for tourists.  In particular, the addition of financial institution FINCIMEX to the Cuba Restricted List will help address the regime’s attempts to control the flow of hard currency that belongs to the Cuban people,” Pompeo added.  “The people should have the freedom to decide what to do with their own money.”

Source: http://www.bc.gob.cu/   From the CIMEX Group, Financiera Cimex, SA (FINCIMEX) was incorporated on January 26, 1984 in the Republic of Panama and created as a Cuban private company by means of Deed No. 172, dated May 15, 1995. The Central Bank of Cuba  granted a Specific License to Financiera CIMEX SA through its Resolution 103, of 1998, ,which was repealed by Resolution No. 109, of 1999, which, instead, granted the following licenses:

1. Specific License to carry out financial intermediation operations:
– Manage and administer family aid remittances from abroad to Cuba.
– Finance export operations.
– Finance short-term purchase operations in the national territory.
– Carry out financial leasing operations.
– Make discounts for commercial bills and collection procedures.
2. Type A license for the issuance and operation of any type of plastic card.
3. License to act as a purchasing institution for plastic cards.
4. License to serve as a plastic card processing center.

“The bulk of Cuba’s tourism industry is owned and operated by the Cuban military. We urge anyone who would visit the island to be a responsible consumer and avoid providing additional funds to the repressive and abusive Castro regime. Instead, we urge that visitors to Cuba support the Cuban small business owners who struggle to succeed despite the heavy restrictions placed upon them by the regime,”  Secretary of State Pompeo. 

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  briefs reporters at Department of State headquarters in Washington D.C. 

Below is a U.S. Department of State’s partial list of entities and subentities  “under the control of, or acting for or on behalf of, the Cuban military, intelligence, or security services or personnel with which direct financial transactions would disproportionately benefit such services or personnel at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba.”

Ministries

MINFAR — Ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias

MININT — Ministerio del Interior

Holding Companies

CIMEX — Corporación CIMEX S.A.

Compañía Turística Habaguanex S.A.

GAESA — Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A.

Gaviota — Grupo de Turismo Gaviota

UIM — Unión de Industria Militar

Hotels in Havana and Old Havana

Aparthotel Montehabana

Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski

H10 Habana Panorama

Hostal Valencia

Hotel Ambos Mundos

Hotel Armadores de Santander

Hotel Beltrán de Santa Cruz

Hotel Conde de Villanueva

Hotel del Tejadillo

Hotel el Bosque

Hotel el Comendador

Hotel el Mesón de la Flota

Hotel Florida

Hotel Habana 612

Hotel Kohly

Hotel Los Frailes

Hotel Marqués de Prado Ameno

Hotel Palacio del Marqués de San Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal

Hotel Palacio O’Farrill

Hotel Park View

Hotel Raquel

Hotel San Miguel