The U.S. sanctions COREYDAN S.A. and ENETEC S.A., two fuel companies of the Cuban regime that were operating in the shadows

The State Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury added COREYDAN S.A. and ENETEC S.A. this Monday to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, expanding sanctions against the Cuban energy sector to two state-owned enterprises that, despite their limited public visibility, play a key role in the regime's fuel trade.

Both entities were penalized under section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404 for operating in the energy sector of the Cuban economy, as specified by the State Department in a statement.

The measure was announced on the fifth anniversary of the July 11, 2021 protests in dozens of cities and towns in Cuba, whose repression marked a turning point in U.S. policy towards Havana.

COREYDAN S.A. and ENETEC S.A., whose understated profiles set them apart from other sanctioned state-owned companies, were established between late 2019 and early 2020 and have operated with limited public exposure, despite their strategic importance in ensuring fuel supply to the island.

COREYDAN S.A., established on February 19, 2020, is headquartered at 552 Amistad Street in Centro Habana, the same building where Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET) operates, a state-owned company that controls the country's oil industry. Investigative journalism published in 2025 revealed that even residents of the building were unaware of the company's existence until reporters verified its address.

However, behind that low profile, COREYDAN played a central role in one of the largest shipments of fuel to Cuba in recent years. A investigation by Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad (MCCI) identified the company as the importer in the majority of the 58 shipments of hydrocarbons sent by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), through its subsidiary Gasolinas del Bienestar, between May and August 2025. The value of these operations exceeded 3 billion dollars.

ENETEC S.A., founded on December 9, 2019, is also engaged in the wholesale trade of fuels and lubricants. The State Department described it as a state-owned company dedicated to the import and export of these products. Both ENETEC and COREYDAN appear to have been created as specialized structures to manage the regime's energy operations with a minimal level of public exposure.

The new designations are part of Washington's strategy to increase pressure on the economic apparatus that supports the Cuban regime. Since President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, the United States has sanctioned GAESA (May 7), CUPET (June 11), and five other entities linked to the military conglomerate, including RAFIN S.A. and Almacenes Universales (June 23).

In this new round, the Rapid Response Brigades, the Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution (ACRC), the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR), ANTEX S.A., GECOMEX, CAUDAL, and GEMAR were also included, as confirmed by OFAC.

As a result of these designations, all assets and interests of the sanctioned entities located in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the OFAC. Additionally, foreign individuals and companies engaged in certain operations with these entities may be subject to secondary sanctions.

With this new offensive, the Trump administration has accumulated more than 240 restrictive measures against the Cuban regime since January 2026, in the most extensive economic pressure campaign implemented by Washington in decades.

When announcing the new sanctions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the U.S. administration's policy toward Havana: "The United States will continue to use all the mechanisms at our disposal both to address the threats to national security posed by the Cuban communist regime and to promote the economic and political reforms that will provide a better future for Cuba."