Meliá

Meliá Hotels International, headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, announced in early June 2026 that it is surrendering management of 15 of its 34 Cuban hotels, citing circumstances beyond its control. The move came days before the 5 June 2026 expiry of OFAC's wind-down authorisation for foreign firms transacting with GAESA, Cuba's military conglomerate. Remaining exposed to GAESA after that date would have triggered secondary sanctions against Meliá's broader US-linked business.

On 23 June 2026 the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Helms-Burton Act strips sovereign immunity from Cuban state entities, and named Meliá as directly exposed to Title III lawsuits brought by Cuban-American families whose land was confiscated after the 1959 revolution . The ruling opens a litigation front distinct from the sanctions exit: even the properties Meliá has surrendered, and any it retains, carry legal risk over their expropriated foundations, since Title III attaches to trafficking in confiscated property rather than to a current management contract.

Founded in 1956 by Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, Meliá is Spain's largest hotel group and one of Europe's biggest, operating more than 350 hotels across 40 countries under brands including Meliá, ME, Paradisus, and Sol. Its Cuban estate, built largely through joint-venture arrangements with the Cuban military's tourism Arm Gaviota, made it one of the island's dominant resort operators for three decades. Cuba accounted for a disproportionate share of its Caribbean earnings and was integral to its all-inclusive strategy.

The Cuban exit marks a significant retrenchment for a group that once treated the island as a cornerstone of Caribbean growth. With 19 properties still operating in Cuba after the draw-down, Meliá is navigating a narrowing corridor: retaining some presence while shedding the GAESA-linked contracts most exposed to US sanction, and now weighing the litigation risk the Supreme Court has attached to any Cuban footprint. The episode illustrates how sanctions and the courts together can reshape the hospitality sector FAR beyond their intended targets.