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The Maritime Port Transport Business Group (GEMAR), the parent company of Coral Marítima S.A., which recently took control of the Mariel Container Terminal, was added this Monday to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List by the United States Department of the Treasury, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The designation is part of a new round of sanctions against ten Cuban entities, announced by Washington on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the protests on July 11, 2021.
The measure comes just two weeks after the Cuban regime reorganized the administration of the country's main port terminal. The change occurred following the sanctions imposed on June 23 against Almacenes Universales S.A. (AUSA), a subsidiary of GAESA that had been operating the terminal in the Mariel Special Development Zone.
The transfer was officially completed on July 1, when Coral Marítima S.A., a company affiliated with GEMAR, took control of the facility through its subsidiary Terminales Portuarias CORAL S.A.
The operation was communicated to clients on June 25 in a letter signed by Yamile Barrios San Martín, the commercial director of TC Mariel.
"The company Terminal de Contenedores Mariel S.A. sold its assets to the Cuban commercial entity Coral Marítima S.A., which established the subsidiary Port Terminals CORAL S.A. to take over the business previously conducted by TC Mariel," the document states.
The change of operator was interpreted by several analysts as an attempt to keep the terminal operational following the sanctions against AUSA.
The economist Miguel Alejandro Hayes stated that the regime could formally dismantle certain business structures to replace them with others that continue to perform the same functions. The inclusion of GEMAR on the OFAC list now affects the state-owned company that is in charge of the terminal.
In the information released by the State Department, GEMAR is described as "a Cuban state entity with a strong presence in Cuba's maritime sector," sanctioned for being owned or controlled by the Cuban Government.
The subsidiary managing the Mariel Container Terminal operates the country's main logistics infrastructure, through which approximately 85% of Cuban imports pass.
New round of sanctions
In addition to GEMAR, the United States sanctioned the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR), the Foreign Trade Business Group (GECOMEX), OSDE Caudal S.A., the Rapid Response Brigades, the Territorial Troops Militias (MTT), and the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution (ACRC) this Monday.
The list also includes ANTEX S.A., a company linked to GAESA that, according to the State Department, is involved in the management of "the export of forced Cuban labor to Angola."
The new appointments are completed by the energy companies COREYDAN S.A. and ENETEC S.A., noted for their involvement in the import and export of fuels, a sector deemed strategic for the Cuban economy.
The sanctions were adopted under Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026. Since then, Washington has progressively expanded the restrictions against entities linked to the economic and security apparatus of the regime, including GAESA, MININT, MINFAR, CUPET, and the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Upon announcing this new round of measures, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the U.S. administration's stance: “The United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to confront the threats to national security posed by the Cuban communist regime and to promote the economic and political reforms that will allow for a better future for Cuba.”
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