FAQ 1262
OFAC guidance giving GECOMEX and GEMAR a 30-day sanctions wind-down window while staying silent on Cuba's Tourism Ministry.
OFAC's FAQ 1262, issued 13 July 2026 alongside ten new Cuba sanctions designations, gave only GECOMEX and GEMAR a wind-down window to 12 August, leaving the newly designated Tourism Ministry without published guidance.
Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
OFAC gave two firms a wind-down clock and said nothing about tourism; oversight or deliberate signal?
Timeline for FAQ 1262
Mentioned in: Licences wind down a Cuba hotel fund
Cuba DispatchSet 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, stating that the US government does not intend to target non-US persons for transactions "ordinarily incident and necessary" to winding down dealings with either entity, or with any entity they own 50 per cent or more of, through 12 August 2026.
The FAQ 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.