FAQ 1262
OFAC guidance giving GECOMEX and GEMAR a 30-day sanctions wind-down window while staying silent on Cuba's Tourism Ministry.
Last refreshed: 17 July 2026
OFAC gave two firms a wind-down clock and said nothing about tourism; oversight or deliberate signal?
Timeline for FAQ 1262
Set the 12 August wind-down deadline
Cuba Dispatch: OFAC covers two, says nothing on tourismBackground
OFAC issued FAQ 1262 on 13 July 2026, the same day it designated ten Cuban entities under Executive Order 14404. It addresses only two of the ten by name: GECOMEX and GEMAR.
The FAQ states the US government does not intend to target non-US persons for transactions 'ordinarily incident and necessary' to winding down dealings with GECOMEX, GEMAR, or any entity they own 50% or more of, through 12 August 2026. It warns that returning assets to those entities, or moving assets to evade the designation, could still expose non-US persons to sanctions risk, and directs unfinished wind-downs to the OFAC Compliance Hotline. US persons remain barred from dealing with either entity regardless of the wind-down window under the pre-existing Cuban Assets Control Regulations.
The FAQ does not mention MINTUR, tourism bookings, or the travel sector at all, leaving the compliance question for third-country tour operators, travel agents and hotel-management contracts touching the Tourism Ministry unanswered as of 17 July 2026.