Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is promoting her country’s role as mediator in talks between the US government, led by Donald Trump, and Cuba, controlled by Raúl Castro. One of the expected outcomes of these talks is the opening of the island to major US hotel chains, which would be detrimental to Cancún and the Riviera Maya.
The negotiated arrival of US chains in Cuba would divert these hotel investors’ focus from Quintana Roo, as the interest in traveling to the island, driven by a new economic outlook, would impact the main market for the Mexican Caribbean: by far its northern neighbor.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has been complying with Donald Trump’s demands, such as halting oil sales to Cuba, despite the fact that the Mexican president has been publicly defending Mexico’s sovereignty against the impositions of much larger foreign powers, as reported by REPORTUR.mx.
The shift underway in Cuba following the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the actions of Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is expected to have a significant impact on tourism in the region. This comes after years in which tourism to the island had plummeted to record lows, with Cancún and the Riviera Maya also experiencing a decline in visitors.
Raúl Castro’s son, Alejandro Castro Esprin, and CIA emissaries have been in talks recently, which could lead to a major change for destinations like Havana and Varadero, which compete with Mexico for North American tourists.
The Cuban government is now also prohibiting gasoline sales, controlling vehicle traffic, suspending public transportation, and closing entertainment venues, in a containment plan that could paralyze the country. Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, the great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro, is expected to play a similar role in Cuba to that of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela, according to several analysts.
Source: reportur
