Meliá and Iberostar leave Cuba: Trump's ultimatum limits Spanish hotel chains' options
Meliá said on Wednesday it will end operations at 15 Cuban hotels. Iberostar did the same on 1 June at 12 properties as both bow to US sanctions on Gaesa, the military group controlling tourism on the island.
Published on 03/06/2026 - 14:03 GMT+2
Meliá Hotels International has informed the CNMV on Wednesday of the immediate end to the management, marketing and use of its brands at 15 hotels in Cuba. It is doing so through its Portuguese subsidiary Ilha Bela, which is notifying a decision already communicated to the owner on 26 May. The Majorcan chain was the last major operator with a significant presence on the island.
Washington's deadline
The Trump administration set 5 June as the deadline for foreign companies to disengage from businesses linked to Gaesa and its subsidiaries, the military conglomerate that controls a substantial part of the Cuban economy. The sanctions target those who maintain business ties with the holding company in sectors such as energy, defence, mining or financial services, but also more broadly ban any provision of funds or services to individuals singled out by Washington, such as military officer Ana Guillermina Lastres, Gaesa's director.
For Meliá, the risk was not so much economic – most of its 15 affected hotels have been closed for months because of the Cuban energy crisis – as legal. It would not be the first time the Escarrer family company has clashed with the US administration over its presence on the island.
Iberostar and Blue Diamond, ahead of Meliá
Iberostar had already moved. The Majorcan chain stopped operating and marketing 12 establishments as of 1 June, formalising the end of any contractual link with assets managed by the Gaviota Tourism Group, Gaesa's operating arm. The company will retain a presence in Cuba only in hotels linked to bodies not covered by the sanctions.
Neither of the two hotel groups officially cited US pressure as the reason for halting operations, although Iberostar said the decision was part of “a process of adaptation to the international regulatory environment and aimed at preserving the standards of quality, compliance and management that distinguish the company”. Before the Spanish groups, the Canadian chain Blue Diamond had announced it was ending its operations in Cuba, where it was involved in managing 62 establishments.
Tourism in free fall
The withdrawal of the hotel chains comes on top of a sector that has been in decline for years. Between January and April 2026, Cuba received just 328,608 international tourists, a drop of 55.8% compared with the same period in 2025. Arrivals had already hit historic lows in 2025, with 1.8 million visitors, less than half the figure for 2018, and all the signs are that there will be even fewer this year.
At least eleven airlines have suspended or cut back flights to Cuba so far in 2026, with more than 1,700 flights cancelled in total. Iberia has suspended its Madrid–Havana route until 24 October.
Meliá, for its part, had already closed 50% of its capacity on the island in the first quarter, with an average occupancy rate of 34.1% and a 68% slump in net profit.
