Spanish chain closing down hotels in Cuba

Spanish hotel chain Meliá has joined a growing list of companies with a long-standing presence in Cuba that are withdrawing or limiting their presence on the island.

The decision came after the US announced new sanctions while upholding an oil embargo.

Cuba's vital tourism sector has been particularly hit by the new sanctions, with Meliá ceasing operations at 15 of the 36 hotels it operates in the country.

President Trump's executive order of May 1 expanded sanctions targeted at Gaesa - Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Forces, asserting that it was a threat to US national security.

The executive order freezes the assets of foreign companies, seizes their accounts in the United States and prohibits travel by their shareholders, investors and employees-virtually eliminating their activity in the US financial system.

GAESA, a Cuban conglomerate created in the 1990s, owns a wide range of businesses, from car rentals and retail stores to transportation companies. It is Meliá's partner in hotel management through one of its subsidiaries, Gaviota.

Spanish and Canadian firms are the biggest investors in Cuba's hotel sector, and their withdrawal will affect thousands of Cubans who work in these hotels, noted Lee Schlenker, a research associate at the Quincy Institute's Global South program, a Washington think tank.