The measures with which Trump increases the pressure on Cuba (and the island's government response)

- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
1 julio 2025

A new twist.

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed a memorandum that will harden the restrictions imposed on Cuba.

The directive, sealed on Monday for its effect in the next 30 days, seeks to reverse some of the measures introduced by the government of Joe Biden, which partially relieved the US pressure on the communist country.

The White House indicated that it will reinforce the current prohibition of tourist trips of US citizens to Cuba, will harden the sanctions to the main Cuban military conglomerate and will oppose the calls of international organizations, such as the UN, to end the economic and commercial embargo on the Caribbean nation.

In an information sheet published on its website, the White House said that it will end the “economic practices that disproportionately benefit the government, armed forces, intelligence or Cuban security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people.”

The Cuban government rejected the initiative by considering that “reinforces the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and constitutes the main obstacle to our development,” according to Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

What changes

Although American citizens are already prohibited from visiting Cuba for tourist reasons, there are 12 categories of allowed travel, from family and educational visits to humanitarian projects or sports competitions.

The new memorandum establishes that compliance with current policy will be guaranteed through periodic audits and the “mandatory maintenance of records of all transactions related to trips for at least five years.”

Old vehicle on the boardwalk. — Photo foot, Some of the measures seek to hit tourism, one of the pillars of the Cuban economy.

It also prohibits US citizens from doing business with Gaesa, a conglomerate led by the Cuban army and owner of many of Cuba's hotels.

Biden rescinded at the end of his mandate a promulgated memorandum in 2017 that identified a list of companies and subsections controlled by Cuban military, intelligence or security forces (including GAESA) with whom people subject to US jurisdiction are prohibited from making direct financial transactions.

Tourism is one of the main currency sources for the Cuban government, although the number of visitors has decreased in recent years as the energy crisis was exacerbated on the island, with increasingly long and frequent cuts of electricity.

The memorandum signed by Trump also reaffirms the support of his government to the economic embargo from Cuba and demands a review of human rights violations committed by the regime, as arbitrary arrests and inhuman treatment.

The document orders an official report on the fugitive of US justice found in Cuba or are being protected by the island's government.

It also contemplates expanding efforts to support the Cuban people through the expansion of Internet services, the strengthening of press freedom, the promotion of private entrepreneurship and support for free association, although it does not explain details on how to bring this to practice.

Woman with mobile in Havana — Photo foot, The Cuban government has occasionally restricted the use of the Internet in times of citizen discontent or protests.

It also argues that the “dry feet, wet feet” policy, eliminated in 2017 and that guaranteed asylum to every Cuban that reached US territory regardless of whether it would have arrived illegally, will remain suspended to discourage irregular and dangerous migration.

Cuba's rejection

The memorandum emphasizes that President Trump “is committed to the promotion of a free and democratic Cuba, addressing the prolonged suffering of the Cuban people under a communist regime.”

The policies listed in the text are based on measures that Trump has applied in his first mandate and also in recent months.

Shortly after assuming his second government, Trump restored the designation of Cuba as a sponsoring state of terrorism, days after the then president Joe Biden lifted.

The Cuban government harshly criticized the new memorandum signed by Trump, considering that “the economic war measures adopted by the administration of Donald Trump and even more the blockade,” according to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, cited by the state agency Latin Latin.

For his part, the Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said that the new directive of the United States Government “responds to close and non-representative interests of the majority in that country, and further reinforces the economic blockade.”

“The impact will feel, but they will not bend us,” he said.

Trump and his hard hand policy towards Cuba have usually counted with a strong support from the Cuban community in the United States.

However, the president's decision to eliminate temporary protection status (TPS) for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans generated great disappointment among many Cuban -American.