Trump Tightens Blockade on Cuba, Bans US Tourism

July 3, 2025

US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum reinforcing the US blockade on Cuba and banning all US tourism to the island. The move targets Cuba’s economy and aims to isolate the Cuban government.

On June 30, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that dramatically tightens the longstanding US blockade against Cuba and prohibits all US citizens from traveling to the island. This policy shift overturns the more conciliatory approach adopted by the Biden administration and signals a renewed campaign to economically and politically isolate Cuba.

The memorandum explicitly aims to restore the “firm approach” that characterized Trump’s first term, rolling back the Biden-era relaxations. It targets Cuba’s economy, especially key sectors managed by the Cuban government.

This policy reflects a continuation of the US imperialist strategy to strangle Cuba’s economy and undermine its socialist government. The prohibition on tourism is enforced through strict audits and mandatory record-keeping of travel-related transactions for at least five years, underscoring the administration’s intent to surveil and control any interaction with Cuba.

The memorandum claims to support the Cuban people by promoting internet access, freedom of the press, and independent private enterprise. However, these claims ring hollow against a backdrop of decades of US aggression designed to destabilize Cuba’s sovereignty and social achievements.

The policy also maintains the termination of the “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy, which the US government previously used to encourage dangerous migration from Cuba. By framing migration control as a humanitarian concern, the US obscures its role in creating the very conditions that drive Cubans to flee.

Trump’s memorandum is another chapter in the ongoing US imperialist blockade designed to suffocate Cuba’s revolutionary project. The embargo is a form of collective punishment that disproportionately harms ordinary Cubans while entrenching the power of reactionary forces in Washington.

Cuban and Venezuelan solidarity networks emphasize that real support for the Cuban people means lifting the embargo, respecting Cuba’s sovereignty, and condemning US interference. The memorandum’s focus on “human rights” and “democracy” serves as a pretext for interventionism and economic warfare.

The United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly condemned the US embargo as a violation of international law and an obstacle to Cuba’s development. The Trump administration’s hardening of the embargo flies in the face of global calls for dialogue, cooperation, and respect for national self-determination.

The memorandum also demands a report on US fugitives allegedly sheltered by Cuba, further straining bilateral relations and perpetuating a hostile narrative that undermines prospects for peaceful coexistence.

The official response from the Cuban government was swift. In a statement, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the Presidential Memorandum announced by the United States as an intensification of imperialist aggression and the economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people, identifying it as the main obstacle to the island’s sovereign development.

The minister condemned this measure as a criminal act and a flagrant violation of the human rights of an entire nation, reaffirming Cuba’s commitment to resistance and the defense of its sovereignty against Washington’s coercive policies.