The United States sanctioned the Port of Mariel on Thursday, concluding that the military conglomerate GAESA attempted to evade U.S. restrictions by transferring the terminal to another state-owned company.
The core of the action is the sanction against Terminal de Contenedores de Mariel S.A. and Coral Marítima S.A. for an operation detected in mid-June: the military conglomerate GAESA transferred the Port of Mariel to Coral Marítima S.A. to remove it from the reach of the sanctions that were already imposed on it.
The State Department described the maneuver unequivocally: "Mariel Container Terminal S.A. is the main container terminal in Cuba and transferred the Port of Mariel to Coral Marítima S.A. in a mid-June transaction to evade sanctions."
The notification to clients regarding the asset sale, dated June 25 in Artemisa, announced the creation of Terminales Portuarias CORAL S.A. as the new operator. Washington responded by sanctioning both parties involved in the transaction.
The State Department designated this Thursday nine entities and two individuals associated with the Cuban regime.
The designations were adopted under Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, and were announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
CEIBA Investments Limited was also appointed, a firm based in Guernsey that has been investing in Cuban real estate since 1996, and whose Panamanian subsidiary took control of an old joint venture with GAESA after its appointment, as well as ORBIT S.A., a remittance processor that the State Department considers "almost certainly" controlled by GAESA.
In the realm of medical missions, the sanctions affected the Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos S.A. (CSMC), described as "the main source of foreign currency for the Cuban regime, generating more income than any other sector of the economy."
The Central Unit for Medical Cooperation (UCCM), an agency of the Ministry of Public Health responsible for recruiting professionals for abroad, was also sanctioned.
At the individual level, the Minister of Public Health José Ángel Portal Miranda and the director of the UCCM Gretza Sánchez Padrón were appointed.
Washington reiterates that the regime retains between 50% and 95% of the salaries paid by recipient countries, affecting tens of thousands of professionals deployed in more than 50 countries.
In the energy sector, the measures affected CEINPET —the research and development arm of the already sanctioned CUPET—, as well as ENERSA and EINARBO S.A., both importers of gas and lubricants, the latter sourcing supplies from Mexico and India.
This is the fourth significant round of sanctions in less than three months: on May 7, GAESA was directly designated; on June 23, Almacenes Universales S.A.; and on July 13, GEMAR, ANTEX, COREYDAN, ENETEC, and GECOMEX, among other entities.
Rubio warned that any foreign bank or company providing services to those sanctioned must immediately suspend those activities: "Anyone who supports, sponsors, or provides services to these sanctioned actors risks being sanctioned. Foreign banks and other companies that serve or hold funds for these entities must cease those activities immediately."
The congressman Carlos A. Giménez went further in his reaction: “Any country that continues to participate in the perverse scheme of human trafficking of the Cuban regime is facilitating modern slavery. I will vote to withdraw U.S. funds from countries that collaborate in the oppression of the Cuban people.”
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