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CSMC (Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos)
OrganisationCU

CSMC (Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos)

Cuba's state operator marketing overseas medical missions, OFAC-designated 23 July 2026 over forced-labour allegations.

Four members of Congress wrote to Secretary Rubio and Treasury Secretary Bessent on 10 July 2026 urging sanctions on CSMC, calling Cuba's overseas medical-mission operator one of the world's largest state-sponsored forced-labour schemes.

Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Why did the US sanction Cuba's medical-missions company CSMC?

Timeline for CSMC (Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos)

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Background

On 23 July 2026 the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated CSMC (Comercializadora de Servicios Medicos Cubanos) under Executive Order 14404, alongside its parent body UCCM and two named officials, opening the first US sanctions strike at Cuba's medical-missions programme. The action answered a 10 July letter from four Florida members of Congress asking for exactly this sanction, a thirteen-day turnaround.

CSMC is the Cuban state entity that markets Cuban doctors' and other health workers' labour abroad in exchange for hard currency, one of the programmes the State Department describes as among Cuba's largest sources of foreign currency. The US Trafficking in Persons report cited in the designation found Cuban officials confiscate between 50 and 95 per cent of the wages host countries pay for tens of thousands of workers across more than 50 countries.

The designation is the first US sanctions action to target the labour Cuba exports rather than the fuel, finance or leadership it hit in prior waves, including CUPET in June and a ten-entity batch in July, marking a new front in Washington's Cuba campaign rather than a pivot away from the earlier ones.

Common Questions
What is CSMC?
Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos, the Cuban state entity that operates Cuba's overseas medical-mission programme.
Why do lawmakers want CSMC sanctioned?
Four members of Congress wrote to Secretary Rubio and Treasury Secretary Bessent on 10 July 2026 calling CSMC's overseas medical-mission programme a state-sponsored forced-labour scheme.Source: Rep. Maria Salazar press release
Has the US sanctioned Cuba's medical missions programme?
Not as of 17 July 2026. CSMC was not named in the 13 July 2026 ten-entity sanctions wave despite the congressional request three days earlier.Source: US State Department
Why did the US sanction CSMC?
OFAC designated CSMC on 23 July 2026 under EO 14404 for marketing Cuban doctors' labour abroad, citing a State Department finding that officials confiscate 50-95% of their wages.Source: US Treasury OFAC
What is CSMC in Cuba?
CSMC (Comercializadora de Servicios Medicos Cubanos) is the Cuban state company that markets Cuba's overseas medical missions, sending doctors abroad for hard currency.Source: US Treasury OFAC
Who runs Cuba's medical missions programme?
CSMC operates under its parent body UCCM (Unidad Central de Cooperacion Medica); Cuba's Public Health Minister Jose Angel Portal Miranda was personally designated alongside it.Source: US Treasury OFAC
When did Congress ask for CSMC to be sanctioned?
Four Florida members of Congress wrote to the state and Treasury secretaries on 10 July 2026 asking for sanctions on CSMC; OFAC designated it thirteen days later, on 23 July.Source: US State Department