The Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz declared on Thursday that the regime is "optimistic" regarding the U.S. sanctions and believes they will not be permanent, in a speech given during the virtual inauguration of the 44th International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2026.
"We are optimistic; we believe that these sanctions will not last long and that we can gradually return to normalcy," Marrero stated in a video recorded and shared on YouTube, which the regime presented as a "technological modernization" of the event but that reflects the collapse of the sector.
The speech came just a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions against GAESA, the military conglomerate that controls between 40% and 70% of the Cuban formal economy, with estimated assets exceeding 18 billion dollars.
Rubio was categorical in his response to the regime's optimism: "We will continue to take measures until the regime adopts all the necessary political and economic reforms."
The U.S. also granted foreign companies a deadline until June 5 to cease operations with GAESA, under the threat of secondary sanctions. The Canadian company Sherritt International suspended all its operations in Cuba that same Thursday, repatriated its employees, and saw its stock drop by up to 30%.
Marrero also issued a rhetorical message to the regime's business partners during the fair: "They may block us energetically, they may block us economically, but they will not be able to block our sun. They will not be able to block our beaches. They will not be able to block the hospitality of the Cuban people."
The Prime Minister went further by stating that traveling to Cuba helps the Cuban people: "Every time a tourist travels to Cuba, they are helping the Cuban people," he declared in front of the more than 900 exhibitors who participated in the event.
The data on Cuban tourism overwhelmingly contradicts that optimism. Cuba received only 298,057 international visitors in the first quarter of 2026, a decline of 48% compared to the same period in 2025. In March, the number plummeted to just 35,561 tourists, compared to approximately 170,000 in March of the previous year, a contraction of 79%.
Russian tourism has dropped to just 249 visitors in March, while Canadian tourism — historically the main market — recorded only 511 tourists that month, compared to 98,663 in March 2025.
The collapse of tourism left 300,000 workers in the sector without jobs or income, while hotel occupancy plummeted to 18.9%-21.5% in the first quarter, with more than eight out of ten rooms empty.
The crisis worsened with the fair amidst a collapse of energy: power outages of up to 25 hours a day affect more than 55% of the Cuban territory, resulting from over 240 sanctions imposed by the Trump administration since January 2026 and the interception of at least seven tankers destined for the island.
Rubio had warned on Wednesday that "the profound economic reforms that Cuba needs are impossible under the current regime," making it clear that Washington does not intend to ease pressure as long as the dictatorship does not change its course.
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