Q24N (EFE) The U.S. ended last Friday, June 5, 2026, the grace period granted to foreign companies with a presence in Cuba to sever ties with the island before facing reprisals from Washington.
This measure is part of the ongoing pressure on Havana, which targeted its leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and the son of Raúl Castro, Alejandro Castro Espín, with further sanctions.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on May 1 against foreign entities operating in vital sectors such as energy, defense, mining, and financial services in the Caribbean nation, after which his administration set a June 5 deadline for these entities to dissolve their ties.
In this latest escalation of the campaign to cripple a Cuba already in crisis, Trump warned those who maintain business relationships with the Cuban government and its military-run conglomerate, GAESA—sanctioned by Washington—that they risk having their assets frozen in the United States.
The measure also includes economic sanctions and a ban on entry to the United States for foreign nationals who have worked or currently work for Cuban government entities, are involved in human rights violations, or are involved in acts of corruption.
From the island, these actions have been labeled “illegal and abusive.” They come on top of the oil embargo imposed by the Republican administration after the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the criminal charges against Cuban leader Raúl Castro for the downing of Cuban-American exile planes in 1996.
One day before the sanctions on entities were set to expire, the Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Thursday on President Díaz-Canel, several of his relatives, one of Castro’s sons, as well as the Cuban Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR).
The first to break with Havana
US pressure on Cuba has already triggered an exodus of international companies with decades of presence on the island.
The first to leave the country were a number of airlines that, in addition to the drop in demand due to geopolitical uncertainty, had to contend with a lack of jet fuel at Cuban airports because of the US oil embargo.
Since February, the four Canadian and two Russian airlines that served Cuba, heavily dependent on tourism, have suspended their routes to the island. They were later joined by major carriers such as Air France, Turkish Airlines, and Iberia.
Shortly afterward, the two main shipping companies operating in Cuba, the French CMA CGM and the German Hapag-Lloyd, announced they were ceasing to accept new bookings for shipments to or from the island.
Moves to avoid reprisals
Just days after Trump signed his new executive order, the Canadian mining company Sherritt, with the largest foreign investment on the island, immediately suspended its direct involvement in nickel and cobalt mining.
With the deadline for severing ties with Cuba about to expire, the four largest foreign hotel chains in the country made their move. The Spanish chains Meliá and Iberostar ceased operations at all properties owned by the Cuban military, while the Canadian chain Blue Diamond and the Indonesian chain Archipelago completely shut down their operations on the island.
The latest move to avoid sanctions came from a bank, whose name has not been released, which was the only one managing Visa and Mastercard payment platform transactions with Cuba, thus closing off a crucial revenue stream in the Caribbean nation.
Escalation of a long-standing tension
Although the sanctions are focused on foreign entities operating in Cuba, both individually and in joint ventures with the Cuban government, in the energy, defense, finance, mining, and security sectors, the ambiguous language of the order opens the door to sanctions against companies with no physical presence on the island.
Experts highlight its deterrent purpose against those who have interacted or may interact with the Cuban government, amidst the escalating antagonistic rhetoric between two bitter enemies who, after the brief period of rapprochement between 2014 and 2017, have intensified their mutual attacks, at least publicly.
Washington and Havana have established diplomatic, military, and intelligence contacts, about which few details have been made public.
Trump has threatened to seize control of the island one way or another, although he has also stated that they are willing to engage in dialogue with a Cuba on the verge of collapse.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged this week that a change in leadership in the country is necessary for the profound transformations demanded by the US to be implemented, something the Cuban government rejects, warning that it will not negotiate its sovereignty.