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Iberostar Cuba Hotels & Resorts would have ceased operations and the marketing of 12 hotels in Cuba starting next Monday, June 1, as reported by the Argentine wholesale travel platform Sudameria last Friday.
The decision, which has not been confirmed by the Spanish network on its social media, comes just four days before the deadline set by Washington for foreign companies to sever their ties with entities of the Cuban regime.
Sudameria is a wholesale tourism consolidator based in Argentina, acting as an intermediary for travel agencies throughout the region. Its digital platform, Hub Sudameria, published the official statement from Iberostar, in which the Spanish chain justifies the decision as "a process of adaptation to the international regulatory environment" to preserve "the standards of quality, compliance, and management that distinguish the company."
The withdrawal implies the complete cessation of any commercial, operational, or branding ties with the affected establishments. "As of June 1, 2026, these establishments will cease to be managed, marketed, or promoted under the Iberostar brand," the statement says.
The 12 hotels being removed from the Iberostar portfolio are: Grand Packard, Selection Ensenachos, Selection Holguín, Coral Holguín, Selection Esmeralda, Coral Esmeralda, Coral Ensenachos, Selection La Habana, Origin Bella Vista Varadero, Origin Laguna Azul, Origin Playa Pilar, and Origin Playa Alameda.
The official website of Iberostar Cuba confirms the change: instead of the 12 hotels on the list, the page only shows six active properties spread across four destinations —Havana, Varadero, Trinidad, and Cayo Guillermo— indicating that the separation is already underway.
The background of this decision is Executive Order 14404 signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, which expanded sanctions against Cuba and included secondary sanctions for foreign companies and financial institutions that maintain ties with regime entities, particularly with the military conglomerate GAESA and its hotel subsidiary Gaviota.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) set June 5, 2026, as the deadline for those companies to cease operations before facing penalties.
Gaviota manages approximately 110 hotels and around 50,000 rooms in Cuba, and the broader definition of "Government of Cuba" in the sanctions also includes Cubanacán, Gran Caribe, and Islazul, which raises the sanction risk on nearly the entire hotel inventory of the island.
Iberostar is not the only one to leave. The Canadian chain Blue Diamond Resorts announced its immediate withdrawal from Cuba this Sunday; it managed 62 hotels and over 12,900 rooms on the island.
For its part, the Canadian mining company Sherritt International, to which Cuba owes 277 million dollars, suspended its direct participation in its joint ventures on May 7, although it halted its formal dissolution process on May 19.
Banco Sabadell and the company Alto Cedro would also be preparing to exit before the June 5 deadline.
In February 2026, Iberostar had already closed at least two hotels in Cayo Guillermo —Origin Daiquirí and Origin Playa Pilar— relocating tourists to another property in the chain, as a precursor to the official withdrawal that is now taking place.
Meliá Hotels International, with between 32 and 35 hotels operating in Cuba, is the other major Spanish chain with considerable exposure to sanction risks and is facing increasing pressure to clarify its position before the Washington deadline this Friday.
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