Today, the Department of State is announcing the creation of the Cuba Prohibited Accommodations (CPA) List. The CPA List includes 433 properties that are owned or controlled by the Cuban regime or certain well-connected insiders.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced regulatory changes today to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) restricting certain transactions related to lodging at properties identified on the CPA List.
The Cuban government's profits from properties in the hospitality industry owned or controlled by the Cuban government, senior regime officials, Cuban Communist Party leadership, and their families, disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, all at the expense of the Cuban people, who continue to face repression at the hands of the regime. Authorized travelers should instead stay in private accommodations, or casas particulares, owned and operated by legitimately independent entrepreneurs.
OFAC's action today also restricts importing Cuba-origin alcohol and tobacco products; attending or organizing certain professional meetings or conferences in Cuba; and participating in and organizing certain public performances, clinics, workshops, competitions, and exhibitions in Cuba. Taken together, these actions seek to deprive the Cuban regime of the resources it uses to oppress the Cuban people and fund its interference in Venezuela, to the detriment of the citizens of both countries.
The United States will continue to support the Cuban people in their desire for a democratic government, economic prosperity, and respect for human rights, including freedom of religion, expression, and association.
