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2mo ago

U.S. Escalation on Gaesa Triggers Corporate Pullouts and Payment Freeze in Cuba

Secondary sanctions on the military‑linked conglomerate Gaesa and an OFAC compliance deadline have prompted firms and banks to sever ties, cutting off key revenue and payment channels for Cuba.

Un homme marche dans la rue tandis qu'une voiture classique passe, avec en arrière-plan l'hôtel Iberostar Selection et l'hôtel Habana Libre Melia, à La Havane, le 2 juin 2026
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"Cette interruption est directement en lien avec l'ordre exécutif" signé le 1er mai par Donald Trump et "fait partie de la stratégie d'asphyxie contre le peuple cubain", a précisé la Banque centrale de Cuba.
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Overview

  • The U.S. issued an executive order designating Gaesa and set an OFAC compliance deadline that took effect on Friday, prompting many foreign companies to disengage to avoid secondary penalties.
  • Major hotel groups including Meliá, Iberostar, Blue Diamond and Archipelago have announced withdrawals or reduced operations, and shipping and mining firms have paused services to Cuba.
  • Cuba's central bank said Visa and Mastercard transactions will be suspended after a foreign bank ended processing for Fincimex, Gaesa’s financial arm, leaving only national prepaid cards and non‑U.S. systems as options.
  • Washington broadened measures on June 4 by adding President Miguel Díaz‑Canel and several Castro family members to U.S. sanctions lists, which freezes any U.S. assets and bars U.S. persons from dealing with them.
  • The combined effect of oil restrictions, corporate exits and payment cuts is producing acute shortages, electricity cuts and a collapse in tourism revenue that analysts and Cuban officials warn will deepen humanitarian and economic distress.