The United States has unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting Cuba’s tourism industry, significantly expanding economic pressure on one of the island’s most important sources of revenue as relations between Washington and Havana continue to deteriorate.
The latest measures, announced by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), place Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) and nine additional state-linked entities under sanctions. The move effectively extends U.S. restrictions to nearly the entire hotel and tourism network, following earlier sanctions imposed on the military-run conglomerate GAESA, which controls a large share of the country’s tourism infrastructure.
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According to U.S. officials, the sanctions are intended to deprive the Cuban government of revenue that Washington says supports state security forces and suppresses political dissent. The Trump administration has dismissed Havana’s recently announced economic reforms, including plans to allow full foreign ownership of new tourism developments, as insufficient, describing them as overdue measures that fail to address broader governance concerns.
The expanded restrictions come as Cuba grapples with one of the worst economic crises in its modern history. International visitor arrivals have fallen sharply, while persistent fuel shortages and repeated nationwide power outages have forced some hotels to reduce operations and disrupted transportation and other essential services. Economists warn that additional pressure on the tourism sector could further strain an economy already facing shortages of food, medicine, and foreign currency.
Cuban officials have condemned the sanctions, arguing that they deepen the humanitarian challenges facing ordinary citizens rather than government leaders. Despite recent overtures from Havana aimed at attracting foreign investment and reviving the tourism industry, there are currently no indications that either side is preparing to ease the longstanding economic standoff, leaving one of Cuba’s most vital industries facing continued uncertainty.
