(Archived Content)
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
JS-1852
The U.S. Department of the Treasury today took further action against Fidel Castro's oppressive regime by identifying Melfi Marine, a shipping company controlled by the Cuban government, as a Specially Designated National (SDN) of Cuba.
With this step, we continue to restrict the Cuban government's access to capital by identifying and isolating companies controlled by Castro, said Juan Carlos Zarate, Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing. The Castro government uses money to enrich itself and perpetuate its totalitarian regime at the expense of the Cuban people.
Melfi Marine was incorporated in Panama in 1981 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cimex, identified by the Treasury Department in February 2004 as a SDN of Cuba. Cimex is a holding company owned by the Castro regime. Melfi Marine provides container shipping service between Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and Havana, Cuba.
Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may not engage in any transactions with Melfi Marine unless authorized by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and all property of Melfi Marine that is in the possession of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction is blocked.
Today's action comes on the heels of strengthened measures by the Bush Administration to keep hard currency and travel-related dollars out of Castro's coffers. Treasury's announcement today is in furtherance of President Bush's October 2003 initiative intended to hasten the arrival of a new, free and democratic Cuba by strengthening enforcement of U.S. laws prohibiting travel-related transactions with the island.
With today's announcement, the Treasury Department has now taken action against 12 Castro-controlled entities since President Bush's October 2003 statement.
ENTITY
Melfi Marine Corporation S.A.
a.k.a..: Melfi Marine, S.A.
.:Addresses:
- Calle Oficios No. 410 e/Luz y Acosta, La Habana Vieja, Habana, Cuba;
- Anillo del Puerto e/Pote y Linea del Ferrocarril, La Habana Vieja, Habana, Cuba;
- Oficios 104, Havana Vieja, Havana, Cuba;
- Oficina 7, Edificio Senorial, Calle 50 Apartado 31, Panama City, 5, Panama.
For more information on previous identifications of entities controlled by the Cuban government, please visit the links below:
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