On 24 July 2026, Madrid, Spain-based Vima World S.L. retained Washington DC-based Continental Strategy LLC for US$30,000.00 for matters relating to TRD: Trade (Domestic and Foreign); FOO: Food Industry- Safety, Labeling, etc.; and FOR: Foreign Relations. On 1 September 2026, the agreement was terminated. Now, the company has reportedly ceased operations in the Republic of Cuba.

Link: Spain-Based Company That Exports Food To Cuba Retains Washington Lobbyists With Connections To U.S. Secretary Of State, The White House. August 30, 2026
Link: EU Not Updating Cuba Blocking Statute After Executive Orders By Trump Administration. Collective Weakness, Forgetfulness, Or Political Impotence? June 23, 2026
Link: EC Now Has To Decide What It Perhaps Doesn’t Want To Decide- Iberostar Of Spain Libertad Act Lawsuit Is First To Report U.S. Court Recognizing EC’s Interest In Title III Lawsuits April 26, 2020
Link: Text of Letter From European Union To United States In Response To Implementation Of Provisions Of Libertad Act April 16, 2019

Neither the leadership of the Brussels, Belgium-based European Commission (EC) nor leadership of the Brussels, Belgium-based European Council (EC) nor members of the twenty-seven country Brussels, Belgium-based European Union (EU) taken any decision to add Trump-Vance Administration (2025-2029) Executive Order 14404 to the Annex to its Blocking Statute that includes specific extraterritorial measures, including the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (known as “Libertad Act”) and Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury.

EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

Cuba Headlines
3 September 2026
Excerpt

“The Spanish food company, Vima, has removed its branding and all corporate signage from its sole Havana store, located at Infanta and Santa Marta in Central Havana, on September 30th. This move is widely viewed as a direct response to the increased pressure from US sanctions against GAESA, the business conglomerate run by the Cuban military.

According to reports from international media, the decision came just a day after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its most comprehensive sanctions package against Cuba to date, on September 29th. The sanctions, which took immediate effect, prohibit indirect transactions with entities on the Cuba Restricted List and eliminate so-called U-Turn transactions, while also blocking Cuban private entrepreneurs' bank accounts in the US.

Two employees at the Infanta and Santa Marta store confirmed to 14ymedio the nature of the pullback. "The company is in the process of withdrawing," one worker stated. Marks from the removed signs were still visible on the storefront, according to the media outlet.

The store operated in partnership with Cimex, a corporation part of GAESA, and Vima's products occupied a substantial portion of its shelves. While some canned and packaged items from Vima remained, fresh products had disappeared.

The contraction signs extended beyond the store. At the Berroa warehouses, east of the capital, only one of the three facilities linked to Vima still had goods, with the other two sitting empty, although employees in company uniforms were still present.

Vima's reliance on Cuba was significant. The company's food division, based in A Coruña, generated approximately 106 million euros in 2025, with roughly 49 million euros (about 46%) stemming from operations on the island, according to US State Department data. Cuba was its largest market, surpassing the Dominican Republic (33 million euros) and Mexico (15.4 million euros). This market exposure was built through its subsidiary, Vima Caribe S.A., which partners locally with Tiendas Caribe, an entity linked to the Cuban military. In May 2024, Vima signed an agreement to manage 20 stores on the island and exports products from the US via Vima USA Ltd., with offices in New York and Miami, exposing it to US sanctions through two different channels.

Vima's attempt to mitigate political pressure unraveled quickly. In July, the company hired lobbying firm Continental Strategy LLC—whose partners include former US Ambassador to the OAS Carlos Trujillo and former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Alberto Martínez—to handle its interests in Washington. However, the $37,742 contract was terminated just five weeks later, on September 1st, according to an investigation into the failed lobbying effort. A few weeks later, Vima's branding disappeared from the Havana store.

The situation with Vima adds to a growing list of foreign companies that have exited or scaled back operations in Cuba since the US formally designated GAESA under Executive Order 14404 on May 7th. Prior to Vima, hotel chains like Meliá, Iberostar, Barceló, and Blue Diamond Resorts either left or reduced their hotel operations. Vima's case marks the expansion of this phenomenon into food supply through foreign currency stores, a key channel for imported goods among Cubans with access to foreign currency.

Vima has not released an official statement on whether the withdrawal is permanent, a rebranding, or a temporary pause. The Spanish government pledged on September 23rd to defend its businesses and opposed the extraterritoriality of the sanctions, but no practical outcomes have materialized.

In August, US Deputy Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Juan Pablo Segura, warned, "Foreign companies wishing to invest in Cuba must partner with a Cuban state enterprise, making them complicit in the dictatorship's corruption scheme."”