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The Ministry of the Interior (MININT) of the Cuban regime published a resolution this Monday authorizing the freezing of bank accounts and other assets of individuals and entities "without delay and without prior notification," effective immediately upon its appearance in the Official Gazette No. 65 Ordinary of 2026.
The Resolution 6/2026 was signed on May 16 by the Minister of the Interior, Army Corps General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, and repeals the previous Resolution 16 from August 25, 2022, on the same subject.
The regulation clearly establishes who has the authority to act: the General Directorate of Financial Operations Research of the Central Bank of Cuba (DGIOF) is the entity that practically executes the freezing, while the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DGIC) of the MININT acts as the competent authority that centralizes and coordinates the entire process.
Above all, the Technical Investigation Department (DTI) of MININT is appointed as the governing body that leads an Executive Group made up of the ministry's enforcement entities.
Article 22 of the resolution is explicit: the DGIC, when issuing the resolution to include a person in the national list, "immediately and without prior notification orders the freezing of funds and assets belonging to those individuals and entities."
The norm itself defines what "without delay" means: "immediacy or within hours following a designation by the UN Security Council or its Sanctions Committees," according to Article 18.1.
The freeze encompasses a wide spectrum of assets: bank accounts, checks, bonds, stocks, promissory notes, movable and immovable property, virtual assets, and any other financial instrument, whether tangible or intangible.
Notification to the affected party only occurs after the DGIOF confirms the implementation of the freeze, according to Article 23.2.
And although the regulation allows for the filing of appeals within a period of 30 business days, Article 42.3 warns that "the filing of any appeal does not suspend or impede the effects of the administrative act."
The criteria for designating a person are equally broad and concerning. Article 6.1 allows actions to be taken based on "police or judicial information, intelligence, or any regulatory body," and clarifies that this can occur "without necessarily involving a criminal process."
Article 6.4 goes further: it is sufficient that it "is publicly and notoriously known" that the person is involved in conduct related to terrorism.
In Cuba, the category of "terrorist" has historically been applied to dissenters, activists, and political opponents, making this regulation an instrument of financial control with potentially unlimited reach.
The immediate trigger for the new regulations is the inclusion of Cuba on the FATF blacklist in June 2025, which requires member countries to implement enhanced countermeasures in their operations with the island.
The regime has responded with a set of regulations in 2026: Resolution 86/2026 from the Ministry of Finance, which designates self-employed workers, MIPYMES, and cooperatives as "obligated subjects" to report suspicious operations; Resolution 45/2026 from the Central Bank with similar freezing obligations for the financial system; and now this Resolution 6/2026 from MININT.
The most revealing precedent for the political use of these tools occurred in May 2025, when the Ministry of Justice threatened to freeze the accounts of the Cuban Freemasonry if it did not accept the leadership imposed by the government.
The resolution came into effect on Monday, May 18, the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, and the set of regulations approved in 2026 grants the Cuban state — particularly MININT — the authority to intervene in accounts and assets immediately, without prior procedural safeguards for those affected.
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