A Canadian Miner Caught in Washington's Cuba Crackdown
Toronto-based Sherritt International is stepping back from its long-running mining joint venture in Cuba after the United States imposed sweeping new financial sanctions targeting a sprawling business conglomerate controlled by Cuba's military — and the Cuban-Canadian mining operation connected to it.
The Trump administration announced the sanctions on Thursday, framing them as part of a broader effort to squeeze the sources of foreign investment that help keep Cuba's communist government afloat. The move puts Sherritt, one of the last major Western companies with active operations in Cuba, in an increasingly untenable position.
What Sherritt Has at Stake
Sherritt has operated in Cuba for decades, mining nickel and cobalt through a joint venture with state-owned Cuban entities. It's been a controversial business model — one that has long drawn scrutiny from Washington and made Sherritt executives unwelcome in the United States, where they've been barred from entry due to their Cuba ties.
The company has weathered years of U.S. pressure, but the latest sanctions target the Cuban military's Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), the conglomerate that controls much of the island's economy, including hotels, retail, and strategic industries. With GAESA now more firmly in the sanctions crosshairs, the financial and legal risk for any partner company becomes significantly harder to manage.
Tightening the Economic Screws
The Biden administration had eased some Cuba restrictions, but the Trump White House has moved decisively in the opposite direction. Thursday's sanctions signal an escalation: rather than targeting individual officials, Washington is now going after the economic structures that generate hard currency for Havana.
For Canadian companies, this creates a genuine dilemma. Canada has historically maintained diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba — a point of long-standing friction with Washington — but operating alongside GAESA-linked entities now carries real exposure to U.S. secondary sanctions, which can affect companies doing any business in U.S. dollars or with American counterparts.
What Comes Next
Sherritt hasn't announced a full exit from Cuba, but the pull-back from the joint venture marks a significant retreat for a company that has staked its identity on its Cuban operations. The question now is how far the unwinding will go — and whether other Canadian businesses with Cuba exposure will take this as a signal to quietly reduce their own risk.
For Canada-Cuba relations more broadly, the episode is a reminder of how much Washington's foreign policy reverberates north of the border. Canadian firms operating in sectors the U.S. deems politically sensitive increasingly find themselves having to choose between markets — and right now, the calculus is shifting fast.
Source: CBC News Business
