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FAQ 1258
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FAQ 1258

OFAC Frequently Asked Question 1258, issued 4 June 2026, extending secondary-sanctions exposure to any company 50 per cent or more owned by GAESA, MININT or MINFAR, even when that company does not appear on a published list.

FAQ 1258, issued by OFAC on 4 June 2026 alongside the Díaz-Canel sanctions designation, extends secondary-sanctions exposure to any firm 50 per cent or more owned by GAESA, MININT or MINFAR, even when that firm appears on no published list.

Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics

Key Question

How far does FAQ 1258 extend Cuba sanctions to companies never named on any published list?

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Background

FAQ 1258 is a Frequently Asked Questions guidance document issued by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC FAQs are interpretive guidance rather than formal regulations, but compliance departments treat them as binding statements of how Treasury reads existing rules, which is what gives this one its practical force.

Its operative rule extends secondary-sanctions exposure to any entity that GAESA, Cuba's military-run business conglomerate, or the interior and armed forces ministries (MININT, MINFAR) own at 50 per cent or more, even where that entity does not appear on any published sanctions list and has never been individually designated. That marks a departure from prior Cuba-sanctions practice, which required a named entry on the SDN or Cuba Restricted List before exposure attached.

The document's significance lies less in any single designation and more in the compliance burden it creates: any foreign company transacting with a Cuban counterparty must now audit that counterparty's ownership chain rather than simply check it against a published list.

Key Issues
Sanctions exposure

FAQ 1258 extends exposure to unlisted firms

FAQ 1258 was issued on 4 June 2026, the same day the US Treasury blacklisted President Miguel Díaz-Canel, his wife, her son and Cuba's armed forces ministry as part of the wider EO 14380 emergency-declaration package. Where the head-of-state designation grabbed the headline, FAQ 1258 did the structural work: it extends secondary-sanctions exposure to any company GAESA, MININT or MINFAR owns at 50 per cent or more, whether or not that company has ever been individually listed.

That rule forces any foreign hotel operator, bank, shipping line or insurer dealing with a Cuban counterparty to trace ownership back to Cuba's military and interior-ministry business empires before it can assess its own exposure. FAQ 1258, not the Díaz-Canel listing itself, is what does most of the package's structural work.

Common Questions
What is OFAC FAQ 1258 on Cuba?
FAQ 1258 is OFAC guidance issued on 4 June 2026 that extends secondary-sanctions exposure to any company owned 50 per cent or more by GAESA, MININT or MINFAR, even if that company is not individually listed on the SDN or Cuba Restricted List. It imports the 50 per cent ownership rule previously used in Iran and Russia sanctions into the Cuba programme.Source: Baker McKenzie Global Sanctions Blog
How does FAQ 1258 change Cuba sanctions compliance for foreign companies?
Before FAQ 1258, a foreign firm could clear a Cuban counterparty by checking it against the published SDN or Cuba Restricted List. Under FAQ 1258, the firm must trace the ownership chain back to GAESA, MININT or MINFAR. If the chain crosses 50 per cent, secondary-sanctions exposure applies even with no named-list entry.Source: Baker McKenzie Global Sanctions Blog
Does FAQ 1258 mean all GAESA subsidiaries are now effectively sanctioned?
In practical terms, yes. Any entity in which GAESA (or MININT or MINFAR) holds a 50 per cent or greater ownership stake is now within the secondary-sanctions perimeter, even without a published SDN entry. Baker McKenzie called this a departure from prior Cuba sanctions practice.Source: Baker McKenzie Global Sanctions Blog
What is the legal status of an OFAC FAQ?
OFAC FAQs are interpretive guidance rather than formal regulations. They do not go through notice-and-comment rulemaking, but compliance departments treat them as binding because they state how Treasury reads existing rules. Courts have generally deferred to OFAC FAQ guidance in enforcement proceedings.Source: Lowdown Cuba Dispatch
What is the difference between OFAC FAQ 1258 and FAQ 1262 on Cuba?
FAQ 1258 (4 June 2026) extends secondary-sanctions exposure to any entity 50 per cent or more owned by GAESA, MININT or MINFAR, even if unlisted. FAQ 1262 (13 July 2026) is a separate, later instrument that granted GECOMEX and GEMAR a 30-day wind-down to 12 August as part of that day's ten-entity designation wave, and said nothing about MINTUR.Source: event
Has OFAC's 50-per-cent ownership rule been used against a real Cuban company yet?
Yes. On 23 July 2026 OFAC named the transfer of the Mariel Container Terminal to Coral Maritima S.A. as sanctions evasion under FAQ 1258's 50-per-cent-or-more GAESA/MININT/MINFAR ownership test, the first sourced case applying the rule since it issued on 4 June. {{EVREF:/t/Cuba-dispatch/12/OFAC-names-a-Mariel-evasion-transfer}}Source: OFAC