The online platform Envioscuba.com, one of the main channels Cubans living in the United States use to send money, food, and clothing to relatives on the island, has stopped taking orders, the Associated Press reported. The halt comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on the Cuban government and round after round of U.S. sanctions aims to choke off international support for businesses in Cuba.
The latest U.S. sanctions target three specific entities, according to the AP: Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and GAESA, a business conglomerate run by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba. GAESA owns a wide range of businesses, from car rentals and retail stores to transportation companies, the AP reported.
The pressure of repeated sanctions has fallen most heavily on ordinary Cubans, who are enduring shortages of food and medicine, nearly constant blackouts, and stifling heat, according to the AP. The reporting describes the most vulnerable as those being punished as international support for Cuban businesses contracts.
Family remittances from the United States have served as a critical lifeline. Cubans in the U.S. send money and packages from Miami containing appliances, food, and clothing, or purchase products online for delivery in Cuba, the AP reported. The closure of platforms like Envioscuba.com removes a key channel through which that family-to-family support has been routed.
The reporting was filed from Miami by AP writer Gisela Salomon.