The tourism sector is one of Cuba’s principal sources of foreign exchange earnings, which has long been a target of US sanctions policy. That said, recent measures enacted by the Trump administration to restrict tourism-related revenue have been designed to deprive the Cuban economy of the hard currency needed to finance imports of food, medicines, fuel, and other essential goods. The end goal is to intensify economic pressure on the government, while also having broader effects on the daily lives of ordinary Cubans. The severe fuel shortage generated by the recent sanctions has disrupted commercial air travel to Cuba. As a result, Canadian airlines and tourism operators, along with their counterparts from many other countries, have seen their business operations in Cuba significantly impacted by policies over which they have no direct control.
On February 9, 2026, “all Canadian airlines have suspended service to Cuba until further notice.” That same day, Canadian airline companies began sending empty planes to Cuba with enough fuel for a return trip in order to bring their citizens back home. The Canadian government also stated that, “the situation is affecting the operations of the Embassy of Canada in Havana” and acknowledged that its ability to “provide consular services may become limited, particularly if the situation deteriorates further.” Then, on February 11, the Canadian government began warning its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the island nation “due to worsening shortages of fuel, electricity, and basic necessities including food, water, and medicine.”
Many Canadians and other international visitors have developed close personal relationships with the Cuban people, which has led to them returning to the island on multiple occasions, often in the same year. In fact, many Canadian visitors have come to regard staff at their resorts and hotels as extensions of their own families. Over time, these resorts have become places filled with precious memories, emotional attachment, and a sense of familiarity. Many Canadians have consistently chosen Cuba over other Caribbean destinations on account of the distinctive hospitality and spirit of the Cuban people, which they viewed as central to their vacation experience. Following the cancellation of flights to Cuba by several Canadian airlines, many repeat tourists have been forced to cancel or postpone their vacations, while a small number have sought longer and more expensive travel routes through third countries where connections remain available. For many of these visitors, these disruptions extend beyond travel logistics, as they interrupt long-standing personal relationships with resort staff and local communities.
Although economic hardship, material shortages, and personal challenges shape everyday life in Cuba, frequent visitors are consistently struck by the resilience, warmth, and strong sense of community demonstrated by its people. Cubans support one another and work towards the well-being of their communities, especially during difficult times. They have a stronger sense of solidarity than what many Canadians and other foreigners experience back home. For instance, families, friends and neighbors often share food and money, in addition to helping with childcare, to ensure that everyone has their basic needs met.
Moreover, homelessness is an unfamiliar phenomenon on the island. In Cuba, individuals are unlikely to become homeless, in part because family members, neighbors, and friends will typically make every effort to provide accommodation and support during times of hardship. Whether understood as an ideal, a social norm, or a practical reality, this sentiment reflects a broader ethic of collective responsibility that continues to shape many aspects of Cuban society.
Despite facing extreme hardships in their daily lives, Cubans gather to converse, laugh, play dominoes, dance, and nurture close interpersonal relationships through everyday expressions of affection and mutual care. Such interactions reflect a social environment in which human relationships occupy a central role. Their perspectives, lifestyles, and patterns of social interaction are characterized by a collectivist orientation, rather than the individualism that is commonly associated with neoliberal thought.
The extraterritorial effects of US sanctions raise important questions about economic sovereignty, particularly the freedom of Cuban and foreign individuals and businesses to engage in mutually-beneficial cross-border transactions. Prior to the recent tightening of embargo measures, Canada had long maintained diplomatic and commercial relations with Cuba independent of Washington and its approach to the socialist regime. There is a compelling argument that Canadian policy should be guided by the interests and preferences of its citizens as opposed to the foreign policy objectives of the Trump administration.
By disrupting commercial air travel and restricting avenues for cross-border exchange, the recent US measures directly limit voluntary interactions between individuals, firms, and nations. Such restrictions replace market-based processes with political intervention, and constrain the ability of economic actors to engage voluntarily and spontaneously in mutually-beneficial transactions. More specifically, the extraterritorial effects of these measures have pressured foreign governments, airlines, and tourism companies to reduce or suspend their travel connections with Cuba. Ultimately, these restrictions raise concerns regarding both state sovereignty and individual freedom in the private sphere. They significantly influence national economic decision-making, constrain the foreign policy autonomy of other states, and restrict the ability of individuals to travel, maintain personal relationships, and pursue economic opportunities according to their own preferences.
From a libertarian perspective, the cancellation of flights raises concerns about individual liberty, freedom of movement, and the broader implications of government intervention in voluntary travel and economic exchange, as the purchase of travel services or hotel stays became unavailable to tourists. Given that these flight cancellations are a direct consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of intensifying economic pressure on Cuba for the purpose of encouraging political change, they constitute an indirect restriction on the mobility of foreign travelers, as well as Cuba’s ability to freely participate in the international tourism sector. Moreover, international travelers are prevented from exercising their own judgments in assessing the risks associated with traveling to Cuba. Instead, their freedom to choose their holiday destination is constrained by policies adopted in response to the Trump administration’s measures toward Cuba.
From the perspectives of both libertarians and classical liberals, the Trump administration’s policies raise fundamental concerns regarding freedom and self-determination. Economic sanctions are typically imposed without the consent of those most directly affected by them, as it is often ordinary civilians that bear the brunt of the impacts as opposed to the political elites. As a result, the claim that the embargo serves humanitarian purposes, promotes democracy, or advances free-market principles is difficult to justify.
The embargo does not foster economic liberty, nor does it expand opportunities for voluntary cooperation; to the contrary, it limits or completely eliminates both. Consequently, there is a strong argument that the embargo has functioned less as an instrument for promoting freedom and more as a mechanism of economic coercion directed at achieving political ambitions. A consistent commitment to liberty requires opposition to not only military intervention, but also forms of economic coercion that undermine the freedom of individuals, businesses, and nations to determine their own affairs. Irrespective of how one views the legacy of the Revolution, external efforts to engineer political outcomes through sanctions, economic coercion, or military pressure risk replacing the will of the Cuban people with the preferences of foreign policymakers.
