Meliá pulls all operations from Cuba as US sanctions bite
Spain’s Meliá will close its 34 hotels in Cuba this week after Washington’s extraterritorial sanctions made operations financially and legally untenable.
Spain’s Meliá is to shut down its entire Cuban operation by the end of this week, abandoning a portfolio of 34 hotels and 14,000 rooms. The company cited "major difficulties" in doing business on the island, attributing the withdrawal to growing pressure from Washington. In a statement to the Spanish stock market regulator on Tuesday, Meliá said the latest US measures make it “impossible, de facto and de jure, to maintain even minimal operational stability”.
The retreat highlights the severe impact of recent US policy in severing the island from Western capital. US President Donald Trump ordered a new round of sanctions in May, threatening foreign banks and companies that conduct business with a broad set of targeted Cuban individuals. For European multinationals, the risk of being locked out of the US financial system often outweighs the benefits of maintaining a presence in the Caribbean nation.
Meliá initially signaled its intention to scale back last month, announcing it would cease operating 15 hotels to cut ties with GAESA, Cuba’s military conglomerate. The company did not previously address the fate of its remaining 19 properties, which were operated in partnership with the Cuban tourism ministry. Tuesday's filing confirms a total withdrawal, with Meliá stating it would work to mitigate the impact on staff, suppliers, and clients during the transition.
The exit marks a sharp reversal for a group that pioneered the Cuban tourism sector for foreign investors in the 1990s. Cuba originally opened its hospitality market to foreign operators to alleviate a severe economic crisis triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Washington has since tightened the noose on the island's economy, maintaining a broader trade embargo since 1962. More recently, the US has blocked all oil shipments to Cuba since January, with the exception of a single Russian vessel. The departure of one of Cuba's largest foreign operators deals a heavy blow to the nation's already fragile, tourism-dependent economy.
