The Cuban Handshake

June 3, 2025 — Belly of the Beast

Donald Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) Monday restating his June 2017 Cuba policy directives, which laid the groundwork for his “maximum pressure” policy toward the island during his first term.

The 2017 memorandum reversed Barack Obama’s policy of engagement, and was the starting point for dozens of subsequent measures that smashed Cuba’s economy.

Joe Biden kept the core of those Trump sanctions in place until he finally revoked the memorandum on January 14. But Trump restored the memo on his first day in office.

As such, apart from the last six days of Biden’s presidency, Trump’s June 2017 memo has effectively been in place for the last eight years.

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez described the memo as “a clear example of the U.S.’s aggressive conduct,” which aims at “strengthening the economic siege and causing scarcity for the Cuban people.”

Watch our documentary series The War on Cuba to see what Trump’s first term and the Biden presidency meant for Cuba.

More of the same, with one addition

The new memo carries the same name as the one published in 2017 (NSPM-5). And its language is almost identical. But there’s one notable exception.

The 2017 memo ordered the secretary of state to identify and publish a list of Cuban state entities with which direct financial transactions would be off-limits to U.S. nationals and companies. The new memo calls for a list of Cuban state entities with which direct and indirect financial transactions would be banned.

It is not clear whether the list would be expanded. Nor is it clear what the impact of adding indirect transactions would be.

Like the old memo, the new one states that U.S. policy is to “support the economic embargo of Cuba,” deprive the Cuban government of funds, enforce a ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba and sanction specific government entities.

“It’s more of the same,” William LeoGrande, a specialist in US. foreign policy toward Latin America and professor of government at American University, told Belly of the Beast. “The new memo seems like nothing more than a continuation of the policy Trump adopted at the start of his first term.”

The document itself does not impose new sanctions on Cuba. But like the Cuba memo in Trump’s first term, it seems likely to pave the way for harsher measures to come.

Secondary sanctions in the pipeline?

Citing “a source with knowledge of the new regulations,” the Miami Herald has reported that the new memo will open the door to “secondary sanctions” targeting foreign companies that do business in Cuba.

However, the memo does not explicitly target foreign companies nor is it clear how it would allow for secondary sanctions.

According to LeoGrande, “indirect” sanctions are not the same as “secondary” sanctions.

“Secondary sanctions would target foreign companies that have no U.S. presence and therefore are not covered by current sanctions,” said LeoGrande. “Nothing in the memo precludes the administration from doing that in the future, but this memo itself does not have that broad a reach.”

Regardless of the new memo, Trump could issue an executive order sanctioning companies from third countries. Former U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone, until recently Rubio’s right-hand man on Cuba policy, indicated earlier this year that “modernized sanctions” aimed at third parties were in the pipeline.

More sanctions on foreign companies doing business in Cuba would be another blow to the island’s moribund economy. They could also create blowback for the U.S., since several of Cuba’s main economic partners are U.S. allies.

With Cuban-American hardliner Marco Rubio running foreign policy, the Trump administration’s doubling down on its “maximum pressure” strategy comes as no surprise.

Rubio was a driving force behind the Cold War-era approach toward Cuba during Trump’s first term. Less than two weeks after becoming secretary of state he confirmed the administration would embrace “a tough U.S.-Cuba policy.”

In recent months Rubio has been targeting the island’s sources of foreign revenue, including a campaign to pressure third countries to cut ties with Cuba’s medical collaboration missions.

Remarks from Beijing come after US President Trump signed memorandum to intensify economic pressure, restrictions on Cuba

Berk Kutay Gokmen  |02.07.2025 — Anadolu Ajansı

ISTANBUL

China on Wednesday slammed the “barbarian” US blockade of Cuba, urging Washington to end sanctions on Havana.

“We urge the US to lift the blockade and sanctions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference in Beijing, calling on the US to remove its designation of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.”

“Over the past 60 years, the US barbarian blockade and illegal sanctions against Cuba have severely infringed on Cuba’s right to subsistence and development and violated basic rules of international relations, which wreak havoc on the Cuban people,” the spokeswoman said.

The remarks from Beijing came after US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memorandum to intensify economic pressure and restrictions on Cuba, which was slammed by Havana for “punishing the entire Cuban people.”

“We firmly support Cuba in following a development path fit for its national conditions, and oppose the US’ moves to abuse unilateral sanctions under the pretext of freedom and democracy,” Mao Ning added.

Trump’s move to sign the memorandum was one of several decisions taken against the Cuban government, such as reinstating Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” and continuing efforts to reverse the Biden administration’s attempts to improve the relationship with Havana.

July 1, 2025 / Source: The Associated Press

By The Associated Press

HAVANA — The Cuban women’s national volleyball team was denied a chance to play in a tournament in Puerto Rico following the new visa restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Cuban Volleyball Federation said last week that the team, comprising 12 athletes, a referee and several coaches, had their visa request denied and will be unable to attend the tournament later this month.

“The disappointment is huge because I train every day, every hour of training is leading up to this and dedicate myself to it,” national team player Laura Suarez told The Associated Press. “It’s really disappointing not to be able to participate in the competition, which is what I’ve been preparing myself for.

Cuba was scheduled to play in the NORCECA Women’s Final Four tournament in Manatí, Puerto Rico. The tournament includes Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica and it awards ranking points toward qualification for the Volleyball Nations League.

“We were focused on the competition because it’s right there,” said Dayana Martínez, another player. “Arriving at the embassy and being denied the visa affects us a lot because that competition gives us points to improve our ranking,”

The Cuban team’s coach, Wilfredo Robinson, said the decision means his team is likely to miss out on the Nations League.

“The competition grants points for each match and at the end it all adds up,” Robinson said. “In September, we have another tournament and if we get there needing to achieve 80 or 100 points we are not going to be able to do it.”

The United States added Cuba to a list of 12 countries with restrictions for entering the U.S. or its territories, effective from early June. It includes nationals from Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, Iran, Venezuela and other nations.

“Denial of visas is part of a racist and xenophobic list of visa restrictions,” Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on his X account.

In a message sent to The Associated Press, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba stated that, according to its privacy policies, it could not comment on specific cases but that directives were being implemented to secure the borders and protect U.S. communities and citizens.

The Cuban women’s national team won back-to-back world championships in 1994 and 1998. It also won three Olympic golds in a row in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

The U.S. measures are likely to impact many more Cuban athletes who depend on international competitions, including some on American soil to qualify for major championships and the next Olympics scheduled to be played in Los Angeles in 2028.

July 1, 2025 — China Daily

CARACAS – The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) on Tuesday strongly condemned the US policy to reinforce economic aggression and blockade against Cuba.

In a statement, the bloc denounced Washington’s decision to reactivate and update Presidential Memorandum No 5 from the Trump administration, which strengthens the US blockade against Cuba.

The decision signals intensified US attempts to enforce regime change and disrupt Cuba’s key sectors, including tourism, healthcare, migration, cultural and academic exchange, and access to technology, said the bloc.

The real intention of the US government is to dominate Cuba and control its future, it said, reiterating its unwavering solidarity with the Cuban people and government in defending their sovereignty, freedom and self-determination.

The member states also reiterated their commitment to peace, security, diplomacy, non-interference and the right to self-determination, it added.

ALBA-TCP, comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Venezuela, is an intergovernmental organization that aims for social, political and economic integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Havana, July 1 (Prensa Latina) Cuba today rejected the Presidential Memorandum on National Security issued by the United States government, which, by reissuing a similar one from 2017, tightens the economic siege and causes greater hardships for its people.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) specifies that the anti-Cuban document released by the U.S. government on June 30, 2025, reissues and amends a similar one issued on June 16, 2017, at the start of Donald Trump’s first term.

Cuba categorically denounces and rejects both versions of the infamous document, the statement said, warning of U.S. intentions to take over the country and dictate its destiny, in accordance with the provisions of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserts that since 2017, the U.S. government has begun implementing measures to further strengthen the economic blockade, taking it to a qualitatively more damaging level.

The note points out that these measures have been maintained over the past eight years and explain the current shortcomings and challenges facing the Cuban economy in its recovery, growth, and development.

He adds that the original 2017 Memorandum was the political platform that promoted, among other measures, the near-absolute ban on U.S. travel to Cuba; it led to the persecution of fuel supplies and the obstruction of remittances.

That memorandum also justified measures against third-country governments for relying on Cuban medical services to serve their respective populations, the Foreign Ministry asserts.

It also led to pressure on commercial and financial entities around the world to prevent their relations with Cuba, which included lawsuits in U.S. courts against the island’s investors. It also ordered the slanderous inclusion of the island on the list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement asserts that “U.S. leaders and politicians have the audacity to declare that they are acting in this way for the good of the Cuban people,” using terms “such as democracy, human rights, and religious freedom” that “are concepts incompatible with the historically abusive and transgressive conduct of the U.S. government.”

The Foreign Ministry concluded by stating that the U.S. government “doesn’t care that Cuba is a peaceful, stable, supportive country with friendly relations with virtually the entire world. The policy it pursues responds to the narrow interests of a corrupt, anti-Cuban clique that has made aggression against its neighbor a way of life and a very lucrative business.”

rgh/lld

By  MATTHEW LEE — Associated Press (AP) — June 30, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has instructed his top Cabinet officers to review U.S. policy toward Cuba, ordering them to examine current sanctions and come up with ways to toughen them within 30 days.

In a memo Monday, Trump said the reviews should focus on Cuba’s treatment of dissidents, its policies directed at dissidents and restricting financial transactions that “disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people.”

In one potential significant change, the order said the U.S. should look for ways to shut down all tourism to the island and to restrict educational tours to groups that are organized and run only by American citizens.

The move is not a surprise given that Trump has previously said he plans to rescind the easing of sanctions and other penalties in Cuba that were instituted during the terms of Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. In the days before leaving office, Biden had moved to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Trump’s memo “supports the economic embargo of Cuba and opposes calls in the United Nations and other international forums for its termination,” according to a fact sheet.

In Cuba, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded swiftly to the document.

“The Presidential Memorandum vs #Cuba released today by the US government strengthens the aggression & economic blockade that punishes the whole Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development,” he wrote on X. “It’s a criminal behavior that violates the #HumanRights of an entire nation.”

The Trump administration also has made Cuba one of seven countries facing heightened restrictions on visitors and revoked temporary legal protections for about 300,000 Cubans, which had protected them from deportation.

The administration also has announced visa restrictions on Cuban and foreign government officials involved in Cuba’s medical missions, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called “forced labor.”

In an interview with The Associated Press this month, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio accused the United States of trying to discredit the medical missions and criticized reversal of policy welcoming Cubans to the U.S.

Rubio, whose family left Cuba in the 1950s before the communist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, has long been a proponent of sanctions on the communist island.

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AP writer Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.