State Department targets Cuban ICAP Leadership and State Enterprises

The U.S. State Department imposed blocking sanctions on three individuals (all in Cuba) and nine entities (all in Cuba) under the Cuba sanctions program (EO 14404) targeting the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and state enterprises in Cuba's metals/mining and foreign-trade sectors. ICAP Leadership were designated for their roles in the organization, while entity designations covered nickel/cobalt producer Empresa de Niquel Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara and metals traders Metalcuba, Geominsal, and Acinox Comercial, alongside six instrumentalities of Grupo Empresarial del Comercio Exterior (GECOMEX), including the Ministry of Construction of Cuba. In addition, OFAC issued an amended FAQ 1265.