{"id":1289,"date":"2026-06-04T04:34:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1289"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:34:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:34:37","slug":"from-mastercard-to-melia-the-companies-leaving-cuba-after-trumps-executive-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1289","title":{"rendered":"From Mastercard to Meli\u00e1: The companies leaving Cuba after Trump’s executive order"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Central Bank of Cuba reported this Wednesday that transactions with Visa and Mastercard will be suspended starting June 6, after a foreign partner decided to stop processing them due to the impact of United States sanctions.<\/p>\n

Read more Miami-Dade shuts down alleged illegal post-op recovery home, leaving patients searching for care<\/a><\/p>\n

The private bank that handled overseas operations informed the monetary authority that it was ending its relationship with the financial entity Fincimex, which belongs to the Gaesa business conglomerate, in order to avoid sanctions.<\/p>\n

The departure of this bank means cutting off all of the island\u2019s financial connections with the outside world, increasing Washington\u2019s pressure on Cuba, which the U.S. government wants to push into adopting sweeping political and economic reforms.<\/p>\n

Adding to the impact of this measure is the partial exit from Cuba of Spanish hotel company Meli\u00e1, the largest foreign operator in the sector. It is the fourth announcement of this kind in barely a week, following decisions by Spain\u2019s Iberostar, Canada\u2019s Blue Diamond, and Indonesia\u2019s Archipelago International.<\/p>\n

These developments \u2014 which carry economic consequences for both the chains and Cuba \u2014 are directly linked to the U.S. Executive Order of May 1, which provided for sanctions against individuals and companies conducting business with the Cuban state, as well as the sanction imposed a week later on the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) conglomerate, Gaesa.<\/p>\n

Meli\u00e1 announced that it will stop operating and marketing \u201cimmediately\u201d 15 of the 35 hotels it oversees in Cuba\u2014all properties on the island are state-owned, but many are managed by international chains\u2014citing \u201cnew circumstances beyond its control\u201d linked to the \u201cgeopolitical, social, legal, and economic context.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision was made \u201cout of a deep sense of corporate responsibility, and is the response to \u2014 and consequence of \u2014 a combination of new circumstances beyond Ilha Bela\u2019s ability to manage or act.\u201d<\/p>\n

This comes just a day after it emerged that Archipelago International, responsible for recent high-profile projects such as the Grand Aston on Havana\u2019s Malec\u00f3n, was leaving the management of the six hotels it operates.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Iberostar \u2014 the second-largest foreign hotel operator in Cuba \u2014 decided to stop operating and marketing properties on the island. In its announcement, it said it had decided to keep only 6 of the 18 properties it had been managing. The chain stopped managing, marketing, and promoting flagship hotels such as the Selection La Habana and the Grand Packard.<\/p>\n

Iberostar pointed to the need to \u201cadapt to the international regulatory environment\u201d and explained that it was leaving facilities owned by Gaviota, Gaesa\u2019s tourism company, but would remain in charge of those owned by Cubanac\u00e1n and Caribe, both companies under the Ministry of Tourism.<\/p>\n

The first chain to make a decision was Canada\u2019s Blue Diamond\u2014the third-largest foreign hotel chain in Cuba by number of properties managed\u2014which will fully cease its operations on the island. It operated around fifteen hotels in Cuba, mainly in Havana and in Cayo Largo del Sur. Like Archipelago International, it decided to leave the island entirely.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Spanish airline Iberia has suspended its operations on the Madrid\u2013Havana route.<\/p>\n

Canadian mining company Sherritt, the largest foreign investment in Cuba, announced a month ago that it would immediately exit the island in response to US sanctions.<\/p>\n

Read more World Cup expected to boost Airbnb surge in Miami this summer<\/a><\/p>\n

Spain seeks to ‘minimize’ the impact on its companies<\/h2>\n

Spain\u2019s First Deputy Prime Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, said Wednesday that Spain is \u201cclosely monitoring\u201d decisions by the US administration on Cuba in order to \u201cminimize\u201d their impact on Spanish companies operating on the island.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the effort we\u2019re making right now to minimize the impact on our companies,\u201d he said during a press appearance. \u201cFrom the very beginning, we\u2019ve been closely tracking the orders issued by the American administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuerpo, who is also Minister of Economy, Trade, and Enterprise, said the Spanish government maintains an \u201congoing dialogue\u201d with its companies to \u201chelp and support them at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuerpo explained that this support is provided through Spain\u2019s Economic and Trade Office and the Secretary of State for Trade, which acts \u201cas a bridge,\u201d even with U.S. authorities.<\/p>\n

Possible solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is unclear what will happen to the nearly fifty hotel properties that international hotel companies have stopped operating. So far, neither the Ministry of Tourism nor the company Gaviota has issued any official statement.<\/p>\n

One option would be for Gaviota or another Cuban state entity to take over direct management. Another possibility would be to find an international operator that is not concerned about being affected by US sanctions.<\/p>\n

It would also be possible to temporarily close these properties until external conditions change, considering that demand has collapsed in recent months due to the geopolitical situation and that many facilities had already been shut down for energy-saving reasons amid the US oil embargo.<\/p>\n

In the first four months of the year, Cuba received just 328,608 international tourists, 55.8% fewer than in the same period the year before, after an April with only 30,551 visitors, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).<\/p>\n

Tourism was already in crisis in 2025, when the worst figures since 2002 were recorded \u2014 excluding the pandemic years \u2014 with 1.8 million visitors.<\/p>\n

Tourism is key to the Cuban government\u2019s economic recovery plans because of its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and the foreign-currency inflows it generates, which typically rank among the most important alongside professional services and remittances.<\/p>\n

This story was translated from Spanish with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool. An NBC6 editor reviewed the translation.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I played dead\u2019: Survivor clashes with defense in trial for 2024 Fort Lauderdale shooting<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Central Bank of Cuba reported this Wednesday that transactions with Visa and Mastercard will be suspended starting June 6, after a foreign partner decided\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Mastercard to Meli\u00e1: The companies leaving Cuba after Trump's executive order - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Mastercard to Meli\u00e1: The companies leaving Cuba after Trump's executive order - 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