Online portal used to send U.S. deliveries to Cuba stops taking orders

A U.S. and Cuban flag hangs on a wall in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan 11, 2021.

MIAMI — One of the main online platforms that Cubans living in the United States use to send money, food, and clothing to their relatives on the island is ceasing operations as the Trump administration increases pressure on the Cuban government.

Envioscuba.com announced it has stopped taking orders as round after round of U.S. sanctions aim to choke off international support for businesses in Cuba. The latest target Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and GAESA, a business conglomerate run by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba that owns a wide range of businesses, from car rentals and retail stores to transportation companies.

Increasingly, it’s the most vulnerable who are being punished as Cubans endure shortages of food and medicine, nearly constant blackouts and stifling heat. Many have received help from family and friends in the U.S., who send money and packages from Miami containing appliances, food, and clothing, or purchase products online for delivery in Cuba.

Envioscuba.com said it no longer accepting new orders, but all those previously approved and in process will be delivered.

“Due to reasons beyond our control, our platform can no longer provide services,” the website said, without elaborating. It is not clear exactly when new orders stopped being received.

The AP was unable to contact the company. Its website does not list a phone number to call or an email address to send a message.

Platforms like envioscuba.com were operating directly with Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. said Emilio Morales, president at Havana Consulting Group, a Miami-based consulting firm specializing in market strategies for doing business in Cuba.

Most such portals, including envioscuba.com, do not ship products from the United States to Cuba, but rather sell and deliver products stored in GAESA warehouses on the island, Morales said. “The trend is for all of this to disappear, because GAESA is behind it all,” said Morales, who expects other similar portals to shut down as well to avoid being sanctioned for doing business with the Cuban government.

The administration’s sanctions threaten to freeze U.S. assets of foreign companies and even prohibit travel by their investors, employees and shareholders — virtually eliminating their activity in the U.S. financial system.

Spanish hotel chain Meliá recently announced it will cease operations at 15 of the 34 hotels it manages on the island, joining a growing list of companies with a long-standing presence in Cuba that are withdrawing or limiting their operations on the island.

Gisela Salomon, The Associated Press