Archipelago International, an Asian hotel chain operating under the Aston brand, has ended its operations in Cuba, becoming the third international hotel operator to leave the island in less than a week, according to a report by Reportur.us cited by United Press International. The exits come ahead of a Friday deadline for foreign companies to end business dealings with GAESA, the military-run conglomerate that controls much of Cuba’s tourism industry, or face potential U.S. sanctions.
The departure follows the recent exits of Canada’s Blue Diamond and Spain’s Iberostar, which also reduced or ended hotel operations linked to Gaviota Tourism Group, Cuba’s leading tourism company and a subsidiary of GAESA. Under the Aston brand, Archipelago managed five properties: Grand Aston Havana, Grand Aston Varadero, Grand Aston Cayo Paredón, Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas and Aston Costa Verde.
The moves come days before the June 5 deadline set by Washington for foreign companies to sever commercial ties with entities controlled by GAESA or face potential financial restrictions and secondary sanctions. The United States announced new measures against GAESA and several of its subsidiaries last month.
Cuba’s tourism sector was already in deep decline before the latest operator withdrawals. According to official Cuban figures cited by Directorio Cubano, visitor arrivals fell 56 percent during the first four months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. Some hotels operated by Aston had been affected by the drop before the withdrawal announcement: workers told Cuban digital outlet 14ymedio they were sometimes instructed not to report to work because of a lack of guests.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel defended GAESA on Tuesday in a statement distributed by the state-run newspaper Granma. “The GAE is not the product of secrecy, nor of elites, and much less a vehicle for the enrichment of a few,” Díaz-Canel wrote on social media platform X. “It is one of many examples that throughout our journey has allowed us to withstand the permanent aggression of the United States government.”
His statement said GAESA has helped finance housing, infrastructure, healthcare and education projects, and contended that the sanctions are part of a U.S. strategy aimed at economically and financially isolating Cuba.
Attention is now focused on other foreign companies with operations in Cuba, particularly Spain’s Meliá Hotels International, the largest foreign hotel chain on the island, which manages more than 14,000 rooms and maintains agreements with hotels linked to Gaviota. Meliá has already cut its operations in half after reporting a 68 percent drop in annual profits, according to Diario de Cuba. The chain’s chief executive, Gabriel Escarrer, recently described the situation as “hard” and “unsustainable” and said the company has had to concentrate tourists in a smaller number of hotels because of falling demand, according to reports by UltimaHora.es.