In Cuba, the stampede of hotel companies who “give in to Trump”

In Cuba, in recent days, there has been a stampede among the major international companies. The 1^er In May, the US administration announced that any company working with the Cuban government would have its assets in the United States frozen. The ultimatum expires this Friday, June 5, and it shows.

On June 3, the Spanish chain Meliá, which manages 34 establishments on the island, announced its withdrawal of 15 of them: all those it managed in partnership with Gaesa, the large Cuban economic-military conglomerate which controls almost all sectors of activity in Cuba and is in Washington’s sights.

“I refused to face Trumpâ€TMs pressure†, titre El País América, which recalls, however, that most of these hotels were already closed due to the “energy problems and the fall in demand from which Cuba is suffering†, as Melia recalled in a press release. A reference to the ongoing power cuts and fuel shortages that have worsened since the United States imposed an oil embargo in January. The hotel giant thus justified the closure by “a deep sense of entrepreneurial responsibility†.

The day before, the Spanish hotel group Iberostar had announced that it was withdrawing from the management of 12 of its 18 hotels, i.e. all those which were co-managed with Gaviota, a tourist company controlled by Gaesa, underlines the site The Touch. Motif : son “adaptation to the international regulatory environment†, according to the official press release.

“Accomplices in lootingâ€

The Canadian hotel chain Blue Diamond did the same at the end of May, ensuring that the decision did not respond to sanctions threats from the Trump administration but“a combination of factors, such as the suspension of Air Canada flights†or “the détérioration des conditions dérations†affecting its “quality standards†. And the South-East Asian chain Archipelago International had taken the lead a few weeks earlier.

It’s a real “débâcle hotelière†what the country is going through, summarizes Cuban Diary in a spicy editorial, which regrets that hotel chains are content to “partial suspensions†. “Powerful companies such as Meliá and Iberostar persist in keeping other hotels in operation, despite the Cuban tourist desert and the risk they take by continuing to bet on the Castro regime†, adds the site established in Spain, judging them “accomplices in the plunder perpetrated by Gaesa against the Cuban people†.

The Caribbean island welcomed only 1.8 million international tourists in 2025, the lowest figure since 2002, and less than half of the peak of 4.7 million recorded in 2018, recalls the online media CiberCuba.

Worse, Cuba only welcomed 330,000 tourists between January and April, a drop of 56% compared to the same period in 2025, already very bad, underlines The Touch. Since the start of the year, nearly ten international airlines have suspended or reduced their connections to the island. And images of Cuba, plagued by shortages of food and medicine, have discouraged many travelers.

No more payment by Visa and Mastercard

A final blow fell on June 3, when the Cuban central bank announced that from Saturday, no payment by Visa or Mastercard would be possible, due to the breakdown in relations between a foreign bank and Fincimex, the financial branch of Gaesa, sanctioned by Washington.

Only national Clásica and Tropical prepaid cards and Russian Mir and Chinese UnionPay cards will be accepted in the country. The press release from the Cuban central bank “attempts to give an impression of normality, but the list of alternatives confirms the scale of the problem†, underlines the information site 14ymedio. Visa and Mastercard are the cards most used by European, Latin American and Canadian travelers, but also by expatriates, aid workers and embassy staff. They are also done by many Cubans who do their shopping in stores selling in dollars, less subject to shortages, thanks to cards that “their relatives abroad provided them†, adds the independent Cuban news site.