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EnvíosCuba.com, one of the main online platforms that Cubans living in the United States used to send money, food, and clothing to their relatives on the island, announced the suspension of its operations amid the tightening of U.S. sanctions against the Cuban regime.
This weekend, the platform launched a notice on its website, with a brief message that provided no further explanation: "For reasons beyond our control, our platform can no longer provide services."
They confirmed that they will fulfill the orders that have already been approved and are in progress, but they will not accept new service requests.
EnvíosCuba.com allegedly operated as a commercial umbrella for several stores that are no longer in service: Puerto Envío, Electro Envío, Mercado, Carlos III, and Almacén-On. The platform was part of the e-commerce network of CIMEX, a pioneering company in currency acquisition in Cuba, which was absorbed by GAESA in 2011.
Relations with GAESA put shipping platforms to Cuba in jeopardy
CNN en Español quoted this Tuesday the statements of Emilio Morales, president of Havana Consulting Group, a consulting firm based in Miami that specializes in market strategies for Cuba.
The expert noted that these platforms did not physically ship products from the United States, but rather sold and delivered goods stored in warehouses of GAESA within the island.
GAESA is the business conglomerate controlled by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, with ventures that range from hotels and retail stores to car rentals and transportation. It is the primary target of U.S. sanctions.
The closure occurred 10 days after the deadline set by OFAC for foreign companies to sever their ties with GAESA, under the risk of being excluded from the U.S. financial system.
This deadline stemmed from Executive Order 14404, signed by Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, which introduced secondary sanctions against any foreign company that maintained business ties with GAESA or entities in which this conglomerate held a majority stake.
On June 4, the United States Department of the Treasury added President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other members of the Cuban leadership to the list of sanctioned individuals and entities.
Morales anticipated that the wave of closures will continue: "The trend is for all of this to disappear because GAESA is behind it all."
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