LatinNews Daily - 15 July 2025

*Cuba’s economy ministry has released new figures showing Cuba’s GDP contracted 1.1% in 2024, far short of the 2% growth target included in the government plan. According to the same report, Cuba’s GDP has contracted 11% over the last five years. Primary sectors (agriculture, livestock, and mining) have been most affected over that period, falling 53%. There was also a drop in secondary activities (sugar industry and manufacturing, -23%) as well as tertiary activities (social and non-social services, -6%). The same report highlights a drop in the crucial tourism sector, with 1.6m visitors arriving to Cuba in the first half of 2025, just 71% of the government’s target, and 77% of the visitors registered in the same period in 2024. It comes as the US government led by President Donald Trump yesterday imposed more sanctions on Cuba’s tourism industry, including adding new entities to the ‘restricted list’, which bans US citizens and companies from doing business with them. This was in line with Washington’s 11 July announcement of plans to update “the Cuba Restricted List and the Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List to include 11 regime-linked properties, including the new 42-story “Torre K” hotel, to prevent U.S. funds from reaching the island’s corrupt repressors”. The announcement, which followed the signing of a memorandum on 30 June by Trump toughening US policy towards the island, was made on the anniversary of the 11 July 2021 anti-government protests which rocked the island over health, economic, and political grievances. As part of this 11 July announcement, the Trump administration also imposed visa restrictions on Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba’s defence minister, Gen. Álvaro López Miera, and its interior minister, Gen. Lázaro Álvarez Casas, for “their involvement in gross violations of human rights”.

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