Spanish hotel chain Meliá has announced it will cease all remaining operations in Cuba by the end of this week, citing US sanctions that make it "impossible, de facto and de jure, to maintain even minimal operational stability." The Palma de Mallorca-based group, which was the first Spanish hotel operator to enter Cuba after the island opened its tourism sector in the 1990s and had grown to manage 34 hotels with 14,000 rooms, had already announced last month it would exit 15 of those properties due to pressure from Washington over ties with GAESA (Cuba's military-run commercial conglomerate). The move follows new sanctions ordered by President Donald Trump in May targeting individuals and threatening foreign banks and companies doing business with them, and marks the end of Spanish hotel presence in Cuba, which has also faced a US oil embargo since January.