While Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since 1962, President Donald Trump has drastically ramped up pressure in recent months.

The Trump administration’s efforts to tighten the economic noose on Cuba appear to be working, as more international firms announced they would leave the island.

Nearly a dozen airlines have cancelled or restricted flights to Cuba since the start of the year.

Canel, along with his wife and stepson. Alejandro Castro Espín, the son of former leader Raúl Castro, is also named as is his own son.

Spanish hotel chain Meliá has joined a growing list of companies with a long-standing presence in Cuba that are withdrawing or limiting their operations on the island after the U.S. announced new sanctions while upholding an oil embargo.

Raúl Castro will be 95 on Wednesday. The former Cuban leader, who helped lead the country to a revolution in 1959 alongside his brother Fidel, will probably spend his birthday in hiding.

By Dave Sherwood HAVANA, June 2 (Reuters) - Cuba on Tuesday defended a military-run conglomerate long the target of U.S. sanctions, saying the group of businesses known as GAESA has contributed to the nation's economic and social development despite a recently ramped-up U.

Spanish hotel operator Meliá Hotels International said Wednesday it will stop managing 15 hotels linked to Cuba's military-run conglomerate GAESA.

Several countries in the Americas have announced the cancellation of their contracts with Cuban medical missions – a foreign policy cornerstone and key source of foreign cash for the socialist island-

Spanish hotel chain Meliá is significantly reducing its operations in Cuba, joining a growing list of companies limiting their presence on the island. This follows new US sanctions and an ongoing oil embargo,