Trump orders review of Cuba policy, eyes tougher sanctions and travel restrictions

US President Donald Trump has directed top members of his administration to review current policy toward Cuba and identify ways to impose stricter measures, including limiting travel and tightening financial restrictions.

In a memo issued on Monday, Trump gave his Cabinet 30 days to evaluate sanctions and recommend tougher options, specifically targeting sectors that benefit Cuba’s government, military, and intelligence services.

The directive calls for reviewing Cuba’s treatment of dissidents and aims to curb financial transactions that "disproportionately benefit the Cuban government... at the expense of the Cuban people."

Among the potential changes is a move to halt all tourism to the island and restrict educational travel to groups organized and led exclusively by US citizens.

The policy shift aligns with Trump’s stated position to reverse the diplomatic and economic opening toward Havana initiated under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

In one of his final acts in office, Biden had removed Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Economic embargo, travel restrictions

According to a White House fact sheet, Trump’s memo supports maintaining the US economic embargo on Cuba and rejects international calls to lift it — including at the United Nations.

The Trump administration has also taken broader actions affecting Cuba, including visa restrictions on Cuban and foreign officials linked to Cuba’s overseas medical missions, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described as "forced labour."

It also revoked temporary protections for around 300,000 Cubans living in the US, removing safeguards against deportation.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio condemned the US approach in a recent interview with The Associated Press, accusing Washington of discrediting Cuban medical programs and reversing efforts to welcome Cuban migrants.

Rubio, whose family left Cuba before the 1959 revolution, has long advocated for harsh measures against Havana, citing the government’s authoritarian record and human rights concerns.