November 26, 2019

Treasury designates Cuban intermediary for acting on behalf of designated entity in the Venezuelan oil sector

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury has designated Corporacion Panamericana S.A., a Cuban company, pursuant to Executive Order 13850, for acting on behalf of Cubametales, a designated entity.

Cubametales, the Cuban state-run oil import and export company, was designated on July 3, 2019 for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy.  According to OFAC, since its designation Cubametales repeatedly offered Corporacion Panamericana as an intermediary in its stead as a way of continuing operations and circumventing US sanctions – for example, by having Corporacion Panamericana take over contracts and commercial relations for Cubametales, and by shifting employees from Cubametales to Corporation Panamericana.

Following the designation of Corporation Panamericana, US property of the company and of entities owned 50 percent or more by it, are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with the property of blocked persons.

US Dept. of the Treasury press release