CUBA Says 407 WESTERN UNION Payment Offices To Close Amid Crippling U.S. Sanctions
The Western Union Company is an American worldwide financial services and communications company.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The Cuban government says the 407 Western Union payment offices in the Caribbean nation are set to close next month as a result of crippling economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. Trump administration. The sanctions prohibit the sending of remittances from the United States to the island through official channels. The closures will affect millions of people who depend on money sent by relatives for daily expenses if no alternatives are found. In Cuba, where the average monthly salary is about $35, remittances from families in the U.S. are a vital lifeline particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the Cuban economy. In June, the U.S. announced the addition of seven new subentities including financial institution FINCIMEX to the Cuba Restricted List. FINCIMEX processes much of the remittance money, billions of dollars a year that accounts for a sizable portion of the Cuban economy. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said at that the time that, 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 said “the bulk of Cuba’s tourism industry is owned and operated by the Cuban military.” Western Union has monopolized the cash reception service in Cuba since 2016 through a partnership with Fincimex, linked to the military conglomerate GAESA.
The financial services firm Fincimex said in a statement that remittances to Cuba “will be totally interrupted” by closing the Western Union offices, when the ban on sending money to the island through companies controlled by the Cuban Armed Forces comes into force on November 26.
Hace más de año Fincimex solicitó a Western Union la posibilidad de pagar remesas en MLC, lo que no se ha concretado a diferencia del resto de las compañías remesadoras norteamericanas y del mundo que se incorporaron a esta modalidad en octubre 2019, con el inicio de la red MLC pic.twitter.com/WSVu8HrJMb
— Corporación CIMEX S.A (@cimex_cuba) October 28, 2020
“Fincimex’s inclusion in the US State Department’s list of restricted entities. USA. last June, and the changes announced by the Treasury Department to regulations for Cuban asset control on Friday, October 23, will prevent remittances to Cuba through US companies with general licensing, harming them directly to the Cuban people and their families in the US. USA. Doing so in the midst of a pandemic emphasizes cynicism, contempt for the Cuban people and the opportunism of the American government. Family remittances to Cuba have been continuously politicized by the anti-Cuban far right. Since September 2019, the U.S. Government USA. has been applying enforcement measures to restrict remittance flow.
The recent provisions directly attack family remittances even as Washington spokesmen lie and try to make it clear that limitations are only one specific entity. Fincimex, as part of the Cuban financial system, is the entity that has been responsible for securing remittances to Cuba from the United States by sovereign decision of the Cuban Government. U.S. who will be completely interrupted. Western Union, whose 407 payment points distributed across the country will close because of these brutal provisions, which also block negotiations that have been unfolding at the request of Fincimex have been unfolding for months to launch the service of remittances to bank accounts in MLC. The US Government is responsible for disrupting remittance between the two countries.”
-FINCIMEX statement Oct. 27, 2020
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.
