U.S. Sanctions Cuban State-Owned Bank BICSA Over Services for Iranian Bank
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of State announced on October 15 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sanctioned Cuba's state-owned Banco Internacional de Comercio, S.A. (BICSA) under Section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404. According to the department, BICSA has provided services since at least 2022 to Iran's Karafarin Bank, which the Treasury Department sanctioned in 2020 under Executive Order 13902. The State Department said the designation was taken in coordination with a Treasury Department action the same day targeting Iranian financial actors.
Under the designation, all property and interests in property of BICSA that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transacting with the bank.
In his statement, Rubio said the United States "will not tolerate a rogue state hosting hostile foreign military, intelligence and terror operations less than a hundred miles from the American homeland."
(Source: U.S. Department of State press)
Source: U.S. Department of State press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国务卿鲁比奥官方肖像。图片来源：美国国务院，公共领域。Official portrait of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Source: U.S. Department of State, public domain.
