The US government is continuing to question Spanish companies that do business in Cuba, a country Washington has designated as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, El Pais reports.

In this latest query, the US Security and Exchange Commission reminded Telefonica president Cesar Alierta in a November 2011 letter that it had warned Telefonica in 2009 about its affiliates in Cuba, including Telefonica Data Cuba. In a response letter dated 30 December 2011, Telefonica told the SEC that it had sold its shares in Data Cuba in 2005 and said it has no plans for future investment in Caribbean island. Accordng to the same source, In Telefonica’s letter, which was confidential, phone officials say that they contacted the Cuban government concerning the possible sale of the state-run operator Etecsa but no agreement was ever reached.