Overview
- The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added President Miguel Díaz‑Canel, his wife and several Castro family members and Cuban institutions to its sanctions list on Thursday, freezing assets in U.S. jurisdiction and barring U.S. persons from dealing with the targets.
- The Central Bank of Cuba said an unnamed foreign payments processor told Fincimex it will stop handling Visa and Mastercard transactions for Cuba, a service the bank said will be suspended beginning June 6 and that will choke a major source of tourist and remittance income.
- The sanctions follow a May 1 executive order from President Trump that authorized secondary sanctions on foreign firms in Cuba’s energy, defense and mining sectors and prompted banks, hotel groups and shippers to scale back or end operations to avoid U.S. penalties.
- Havana condemned the measures as politically motivated while Russia publicly backed Cuba and sent fuel shipments, and officials reported quiet diplomatic contacts between Washington and Havana even as corporate departures accelerate.
- Cuba already faces rolling blackouts, fuel shortages and a sharp drop in tourism and remittances, and analysts warn the combined financial cutoffs and company exits could deepen humanitarian strain, spur more investor flight and raise regional geopolitical tensions.