Foreign Companies and Banks Face Heightened Pressure: Washington Intensifies Sanctions Over Ties to Cuba

On Friday, President Donald Trump enacted a new executive order targeting foreign businesses, financial institutions, and individuals engaged in commercial or financial dealings with the Cuban government, as detailed in a statement released by the White House.

The directive, named "Imposing Sanctions on the Perpetrators of Repression in Cuba and Threats to the National Security and Foreign Policy of the United States," relies on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). It broadens the framework established by Executive Order 14380, issued on January 29, 2026, which labeled the Cuban government as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security.

The document asserts that the Cuban regime's policies "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat," and it criticizes those policies as "not only designed to harm the United States but also offensive to the moral and political values of free and democratic societies."

Expanded Sanctions Target Key Sectors

The core of the new measure involves widening sanctions to include foreign nationals operating in critical sectors of the Cuban economy: energy, defense, metals and mining, financial services, and security.

Additionally, those controlled or directed by the Cuban government, or who have provided it with financial, material, or technological support, as well as leaders, senior executives, and board members of already blocked entities, are also subject to sanctions.

Impact on Families and Human Rights Abusers

The order goes further by extending sanctions to adult family members of designated individuals and those responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses or corruption linked to the regime. This includes embezzlement of public assets, expropriation of private property, or bribery.

The Secretaries of State and Treasury are granted joint authority to identify which foreign individuals or entities are subject to the new restrictions, with the immediate freezing of their assets within the United States.

Entry Restrictions and Enforcement

The order also prohibits entry into the United States—whether as immigrants or non-immigrants—of foreigners meeting the sanction criteria, unless the Secretary of State determines their entry serves national interests.

A notable aspect of the regulation is the explicit stipulation that no prior notification is required for designated individuals, arguing that "the ability to instantly transfer funds or assets would render these measures ineffective" if advance notice were given.

Furthermore, it bans any transaction that "evades or attempts to evade" the restrictions, as well as any conspiracy to breach them.

This latest directive emerges amid Trump's maximum pressure campaign against Cuba, which has imposed over 240 new sanctions since January 2026, resulting in a severe energy crisis with power outages lasting up to 20 hours daily on the island.

The financial blockade poses significant challenges for international actors, as the Cuban regime itself restricted foreign companies' access to foreign currency accounts since late 2025. Additionally, in February 2026, it issued Agreement 10216, compelling e-commerce platforms to channel revenues through Cuban banks—a policy that directly conflicts with the sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

After the Supreme Court's decision to remove IEEPA-based tariffs in February, Trump maintained the national emergency and the legal framework for direct sanctions, which is precisely the mechanism activated by the order signed on Friday.

The White House has emphasized its stance that the Cuban regime is destined to fail, with this new order representing the most ambitious step yet to financially isolate Havana by severing its ties to the global economic system.