US targets Cuba tourism ministry and state firms with sanctions
The Treasury Department gave firms until Aug. 12 to end existing dealings with two Cuban state-owned companies.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The United States has sanctioned Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism and two state-owned companies, expanding Washington’s economic pressure on Havana. The move matters because the Treasury Department also warned companies and financial institutions to wind down current dealings with the targeted state firms by Aug. 12 or risk penalties.
The Treasury Department listed the sanctions on its website Monday, according to Al Jazeera. The measures cover Grupo Empresarial de Transporte Maritimo Portuario, known as GEMAR, and Grupo Empresarial del Comercio Exterior, known as GECOMEX, along with the tourism ministry.
Al Jazeera reported that the Treasury Department is allowing a short period for businesses and banks with existing contracts involving the two state-owned companies to end those arrangements. The department’s notice gives them until Aug. 12 to do so without being exposed to sanctions.
Pressure follows May order
The new designations follow a May executive order that authorized the United States to freeze assets in the country belonging to people or organizations accused of supporting Cuba’s government or economy, according to Al Jazeera. The same order increased pressure on banks that work with Cuban entities.
The sanctions come as U.S. officials have sharpened their public criticism of Cuba. In a Fox Business interview Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz described Cuba’s government as a “national security threat,” Al Jazeera reported.
Waltz also accused Russia and China of “collecting information around our military bases in Cuba,” according to Al Jazeera’s account of the interview. The report did not provide further detail on that allegation.
Blackouts deepen the dispute
Cuba is facing severe energy problems alongside the new U.S. measures. Al Jazeera reported that more than 10 million people were affected last Friday by a nationwide power failure, the second such outage that week and the fourth this year.
Al Jazeera attributed the widespread outages to a U.S. oil blockade. The outlet reported that the White House imposed the blockade after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January.
Venezuela had been Cuba’s main fuel supplier, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet also reported that Mexico, another supplier, stopped sending oil to Cuba after pressure from Washington.
At a United Nations General Assembly debate last week, Waltz blamed Cuba’s leadership for the power crisis, according to Al Jazeera. He said, “Change your ways and turn the lights back on for your people.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla rejected the U.S. position during the same debate, according to Al Jazeera. He called the sanctions and related measures “an act of collective punishment” and “a systematic violation of the human rights of an entire people.”
Parrilla also said U.S. embargo measures caused $8bn in damage between March 2025 and February 2026, in addition to what he described as the severe effect of the fuel blockade, Al Jazeera reported.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.