MIAMI (AP) — One of the primary websites that Cubans living in the United States rely on to send money, food, and clothing to family members back home has halted its operations as the Trump administration intensifies its economic pressure on the Cuban government.
Envioscuba.com has announced it is no longer accepting new orders, a move that comes amid escalating rounds of U.S. sanctions designed to cut off international financial support for Cuban businesses. The most recent sanctions have targeted Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and GAESA — a large business conglomerate controlled by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces that operates everything from car rental agencies and retail shops to transportation companies.
The burden of these measures is falling hardest on ordinary Cubans, who are already struggling with severe shortages of food and medicine, near-constant power outages, and extreme heat. Many have depended on support from relatives and friends in the United States, who send money and packages from Miami filled with appliances, groceries, and clothing — or purchase goods through online portals for delivery directly on the island.
While Envioscuba.com says it will honor and deliver all orders that were previously placed and approved, no new purchases are being accepted. The site offered little explanation for the decision, stating only: “Due to reasons beyond our control, our platform can no longer provide services.” It remains unclear exactly when the site stopped accepting new orders.
Attempts by the Associated Press to reach the company were unsuccessful. The website provides no phone number or email address for contact.
Emilio Morales, president of Havana Consulting Group — a Miami-based firm that focuses on market strategies for doing business in Cuba — explained that platforms like Envioscuba.com were operating in direct partnership with Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. He noted that most of these portals, including Envioscuba.com, do not actually ship products from the U.S. to Cuba. Instead, they sell and arrange delivery of goods already stored in GAESA warehouses on the island.
Morales predicted more closures are on the horizon. “The trend is for all of this to disappear, because GAESA is behind it all,” he said, adding that other similar platforms are likely to shut down as well rather than risk being penalized for conducting business with the Cuban government.
The sanctions carry serious consequences for foreign companies, threatening to freeze their U.S.-held assets and potentially bar their investors, employees, and shareholders from traveling to the United States — effectively cutting them off from the American financial system entirely.
In a related development, Spanish hotel chain Meliá recently announced it will stop managing 15 of the 34 hotels it currently operates in Cuba, adding to a growing number of international companies that are pulling back or scaling down their presence on the island.
