---
Date: 2026-06-19
Author: Hermes
Tags:
  - cuba
  - church
  - news-watch
  - missions
---

# Cuba Church News Watch

## Purpose

Track major U.S.–Cuba and Cuba domestic developments that could affect church brothers and sisters in Cuba, especially opportunities for practical help.

## Standing Watch Criteria

Hermes should check news every morning and update this note quietly. Only notify Adolfo when something major is announced.

Major means one or more of:

- New U.S. or Cuban law, executive order, sanctions action, travel rule, remittance rule, banking/payment change, or humanitarian exception.
- Major change in Cuba’s economic situation affecting food, fuel, electricity, medicine, migration, churches, NGOs, or private businesses.
- Any official opening for aid, church support, family remittances, medicine, food, communications, travel, or foreign investment that could help Cuban believers.
- Credible reports of worsening humanitarian conditions or religious freedom restrictions.
- Any clear pathway where the Reyna family/church could help practically.

## Current Context

Recent reporting and official U.S. actions show a rapidly changing situation:

- The U.S. declared a new Cuba-related national emergency in 2026 and created pressure around oil supply to Cuba.
- The U.S. expanded sanctions authority against Cuban state, security, energy, defense, mining, financial, and related actors.
- OFAC issued June 2026 Cuba designations, including entities tied to the Cuban state/military and CUPET, Cuba’s state oil company.
- CBS/AFP reported that Cuba’s National Assembly approved 176 major free-market reforms, including foreign investment without mandatory state joint ventures, large private enterprises, and investor stakes in state companies.
- The CBS report described severe shortages in fuel, power, food, drinking water, and medicine, with long power outages and humanitarian concern.

## Watch Log

### 2026-06-19

Created watch note and morning-monitoring plan. Initial focus: watch whether Cuba implements the 176 free-market reforms, whether the U.S. adjusts sanctions or humanitarian channels, and whether reliable opportunities emerge to support church brothers in Cuba through aid, remittances, medicine, food, communications, or travel.

### 2026-06-20

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions/Cuba sanctions page; State Department Cuba country page and Cuba travel advisory; Federal Register Cuba search; BBC/AP/CBS/Reuters/AFP-accessible searches; Google News RSS for Cuba sanctions, blackouts/food/fuel/medicine, and religious-freedom/church aid; RNS; Guardian; HRW; CSW; Catholic World Report.

Major development flagged for notification: Religion News Service published a June 19 report consolidating several actionable church/humanitarian developments: U.S. faith groups are actively meeting with U.S. and Cuban officials; Outreach Aid to the Americas says evangelical churches independent of the government have experience distributing aid in Cuba and are preparing for a possible larger humanitarian surge; the U.S. State Department has recently offered aid through the Catholic Church and “other reliable independent humanitarian organizations”; Puerto Rican parishes and Dominican sisters sent nearly 300,000 Communion hosts because power/flour shortages have disrupted production in Cuba; and reports continue of severe food, medicine, power, and mental-health distress. This meets the watch criteria because it names concrete church/faith-based aid pathways and worsening humanitarian pressure affecting believers.

Other checked items: OFAC recent actions page showed no newer Cuba-specific action after the June 11 Cuba designation and June 4 Cuba designations/FAQ. Federal Register API showed 0 Cuba-related documents published on or after 2026-06-19. State travel advisory remains May 7, 2025 Level 2 with power-grid failures and OFAC-license language. BBC/Guardian/AP/France24-indexed results continue to highlight Cuba’s historic free-market reform package, tourism collapse, U.S. sanctions/oil-pressure effects, food/fuel/medicine shortages, and power outages.

Key links:
- RNS: https://religionnews.com/2026/06/19/with-cuba-in-crisis-faith-groups-work-to-influence-policy-deliver-aid/
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- State Cuba travel advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/cuba-travel-advisory.html
- Federal Register Cuba search: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&order=newest&per_page=10
- BBC Cuba search result on tourism collapse: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg8zrm20jjo
- Catholic World Report on Communion hosts: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2026/06/17/shortage-of-communion-hosts-in-cuba-prompts-aid-from-church-in-panama-and-puerto-rico/

### 2026-06-21

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions and Cuba sanctions pages; State Department Cuba search/travel advisory; Federal Register Cuba search/API filtered for publication date on or after 2026-06-20; Google News RSS sweeps for OFAC/sanctions, AP/Reuters/BBC/CBS/Fortune/free-market reforms, humanitarian shortages/blackouts/fuel/medicine, and Cuba church/religious-freedom/aid sources including Religion News Service and Catholic World Report.

No new major actionable development since the 2026-06-20 watch entry. Official checks found no new Cuba-related OFAC action newer than the June 11 Cuba designation, no new Federal Register Cuba-related documents since 2026-06-20, and the State Department Cuba travel advisory still dated May 7, 2025 (Level 2; power-grid failures and OFAC-license language). News results on June 20–21 mainly re-circulated or analyzed the already-logged themes: Cuba's unprecedented free-market reform package, U.S. pressure/sanctions and fuel-blockade dispute, severe shortages/blackouts, tourism/economic distress, and faith-based humanitarian aid discussions. No newly reported law, executive order, sanctions action, travel/remittance/banking/humanitarian exception, confirmed implementation step of the market reforms, new religious-freedom restriction, or new concrete aid channel was identified today.

Links checked/appearing today:
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- OFAC Cuba sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/cuba-sanctions
- State Cuba travel advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/cuba-travel-advisory.html
- Federal Register Cuba search since 2026-06-20: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-06-20&order=newest&per_page=20
- Fortune analysis on sanctions/free-market shift: https://fortune.com/2026/06/20/trump-cuba-sanctions-force-biggest-economic-shift-since-castro-capitalism/
- RNS faith-based aid report previously flagged: https://religionnews.com/2026/06/19/with-cuba-in-crisis-faith-groups-work-to-influence-policy-deliver-aid/

### 2026-06-22

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions and Cuba sanctions pages; State Department Cuba travel advisory and State-site news search via Google News RSS; Federal Register Cuba API filtered for publication date on or after 2026-06-21; Google News RSS sweeps for OFAC/sanctions, AP/Reuters/BBC/CBS/AFP coverage, free-market reforms, humanitarian shortages/blackouts/fuel/medicine, church aid, and religious-freedom sources; Texas Public Radio.

Official updates: no new Cuba-related OFAC action newer than the previously logged June 11 designation / June 4 designations and FAQ; Federal Register API returned 0 Cuba-related documents since 2026-06-21; State Department official search surfaced no new Cuba release, and the Cuba travel advisory remains the May 7, 2025 Level 2 advisory with power-grid-failure and OFAC-license language.

News/humanitarian watch: AP/Reuters/CBS results today centered on the death of former Cuban revolutionary figure Ramiro Valdés, which is notable but not directly actionable for church aid. Reform-related coverage mainly continued analysis of the already-logged 176-measure free-market reform package, without a clearly confirmed new implementation step today. Humanitarian monitoring did surface a concrete aid pathway: Texas Public Radio published a June 21 episode/article saying Cuba faces scarce food and medicine and widespread power outages, and that San Antonio’s San-Havana Project is bringing humanitarian relief to Cubans. The article says the initiative began with artist/community connections between San Antonio and Havana and has expanded into small-scale relief for artists, families, and communities facing shortages. This meets the watch criteria as a credible, practical aid-channel lead, though it is not specifically church-based and should be vetted before giving or partnering.

Possible follow-up/help ideas: verify the San-Havana Project’s current needs and delivery methods; compare it with the previously logged faith-based channels (Outreach Aid to the Americas, Catholic/independent humanitarian organizations, local church/parish networks); prioritize medicine, shelf-stable food, communications support, and trusted church-to-family remittance/aid routes that comply with OFAC rules.

Key links:
- TPR / The Source: https://www.tpr.org/podcast/the-source/2026-06-21/during-cubas-crisis-san-antonians-send-humanitarian-relief
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- OFAC Cuba sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/cuba-sanctions
- State Cuba travel advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/cuba-travel-advisory.html
- Federal Register Cuba search since 2026-06-21: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-06-21&order=newest&per_page=20
- Reuters/AP/CBS topic seen via Google News: Ramiro Valdés death, June 21–22, 2026

### 2026-06-23

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions and Cuba sanctions pages; State Department Cuba travel advisory and State-site Google News/RSS checks; Federal Register Cuba API filtered for publication date on or after 2026-06-22; Google News RSS sweeps for OFAC/sanctions, AP/Reuters/BBC/CBS/AFP coverage, Cuba free-market reforms/implementation, blackouts/food/fuel/medicine, church aid, religious freedom, and humanitarian sources.

Official updates: OFAC recent actions showed no new Cuba-specific action after the previously logged June 11 Cuba designation and June 4 designations/FAQ/general-license activity. OFAC's Cuba sanctions page still lists Cuba General License 1 dated May 7, 2026, with no newer Cuba general license found today. The State Department Cuba travel advisory remains the May 7, 2025 Level 2 advisory noting crime, unreliable electrical power, and OFAC-license language. Federal Register returned one Cuba-term result published today, but it was a broad Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul item, not a Cuba sanctions/travel/remittance/humanitarian rule.

News/humanitarian watch: A new June 22 Catholic press item appeared in multiple Catholic outlets, including The Boston Pilot / The Catholic Weekly, titled "As fuel shortages deepen Cuba's humanitarian crisis, nuns struggle to sustain ministries." The title/source pattern indicates worsening fuel-linked humanitarian pressure directly affecting Catholic sisters' ministries in Cuba. This is a credible church-impact signal and meets the watch criteria as humanitarian deterioration affecting churches/ministries, though it appears to deepen an already logged crisis rather than announce a new U.S. legal channel. Google News also surfaced continuing coverage/analysis of the June 18–19 free-market reform package, Norton Rose Fulbright analysis of the June 11 OFAC CUPET designation, and CubaHeadlines/CiberCuba items saying the U.S. Iran oil reprieve does not include Cuba; no confirmed new implementation step, remittance/travel/banking exception, or new U.S. Cuba rule was found today.

Possible follow-up/help ideas: treat fuel and transport constraints as a direct ministry bottleneck; ask trusted Cuban church contacts whether sisters/pastors need transport fuel support, medicine-delivery help, shelf-stable food, batteries/solar lights/power banks, or communications support; vet any donations through already identified compliant faith-based/independent humanitarian channels and OFAC-authorized routes.

Key links:
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- OFAC Cuba sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/cuba-sanctions
- State Cuba travel advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/cuba-travel-advisory.html
- Federal Register Cuba search since 2026-06-22: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-06-22&order=newest&per_page=20
- Boston Pilot / Catholic Weekly item seen via Google News: "As fuel shortages deepen Cuba's humanitarian crisis, nuns struggle to sustain ministries" (published June 22, 2026)
- Norton Rose Fulbright analysis: https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/4b8a978e/the-us-is-changing-cuba-sanctions-architecture
### 2026-06-24

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions and Cuba sanctions pages; State Department Cuba travel advisory and State/Google News checks; Federal Register Cuba API filtered for publication date on or after 2026-06-23; Google News RSS sweeps for OFAC/sanctions, State Department, AP/Reuters/BBC/CBS/AFP-type coverage, free-market reform implementation, food/fuel/electricity/medicine shortages, church aid, and religious-freedom/humanitarian sources.

Major official update identified: OFAC posted a new June 23, 2026 recent action titled "Transnational Criminal Organizations Designations; Cuba Designations; Russia-related Designations Removals; Issuance of TCO-related General License; Publication of OFAC-OFSI Comparative Overview." The action links to a State Department fact sheet titled "Further Sanctions on the Cuban Regime’s Revenue Generation Network" and adds Cuba-related SDN listings under [CUBA-EO14404]. Cuba-related additions visible in the OFAC SDN update include Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero linked to Alejandro Castro Espin, Almacenes Universales S.A. linked to GAESA, Banco Financiero Internacional S.A. (BFI), Empresa Siderurgica Jose Marti / Antillana de Acero, Geominera S.A., and Rafin S.A. This is a major sanctions action and could affect banking/payment risk, state/military-linked logistics, and compliance screening for any aid, travel, or remittance pathways. It does not itself announce a new humanitarian exception; practical help should continue through trusted church/independent humanitarian channels and OFAC-compliant family/remittance/aid routes, with extra care not to route funds through newly blocked parties.

Other official/news checks: Federal Register returned one Cuba-term document since 2026-06-23, but it was the same broad Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul item already judged not Cuba-specific. The State travel advisory page remains the May 7, 2025 Level 2 advisory noting unreliable electrical power and OFAC-license language. News results also surfaced fDi Intelligence coverage of the new blacklist action ("US blacklists Trafigura’s Cuban partner"), continuing Norton Rose Fulbright analysis of the changing Cuba sanctions architecture, ongoing recirculation/analysis of the June 18-19 free-market reform package, and National Catholic Reporter republication of the previously logged RNS faith-groups-aid report. No confirmed new free-market implementation step or new humanitarian/remittance/travel license was found today.

Possible follow-up/help ideas: before sending aid or money, screen proposed banks, counterparties, freight/logistics companies, hotels, and state-linked entities against OFAC, especially BFI, GAESA-linked entities, and newly listed companies; prefer direct family support and vetted church/independent humanitarian channels; ask Cuban church contacts whether the most urgent needs remain medicine, shelf-stable food, power/lighting/battery support, communications, and transport/fuel support for ministry.

Key links:
- OFAC June 23 recent action: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260623
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- OFAC Cuba sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/cuba-sanctions
- State fact sheet linked by OFAC: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/06/further-sanctions-on-the-cuban-regimes-revenue-generation-network-fact-sheet/
- State Cuba travel advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/cuba-travel-advisory.html
- Federal Register Cuba search since 2026-06-23: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-06-23&order=newest&per_page=20
- fDi Intelligence item surfaced via Google News: https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/news/us-blacklists-trafiguras-cuban-partner-85806

### 2026-06-25

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions and Cuba sanctions pages; State Department Cuba pages/releases via direct access and Google News RSS (direct State pages returned a technical-difficulties page today, so RSS/search results were used as fallback); State travel-advisory page check attempted; Federal Register Cuba API filtered for publication date on or after 2026-06-24; Google News RSS sweeps for OFAC/sanctions, State Department, AP/Reuters/BBC/CBS/AFP-type coverage, free-market reform implementation, food/fuel/electricity/medicine shortages, church aid, and religious-freedom/humanitarian sources; USCIRF Cuba page.

Official updates: OFAC recent actions still showed the June 23, 2026 Cuba designations as the newest Cuba-specific action, followed by the June 11 and June 4 Cuba items; no newer Cuba-related OFAC action was found today. Federal Register API returned 0 Cuba-term documents published on or after 2026-06-24. No new State Department Cuba release or travel-advisory change was found via fallback searches; the direct State pages were not fully accessible from this run.

News/humanitarian watch: June 24–25 news searches surfaced continuing analysis and re-publication of already logged developments: fDi/Hoodline/IntelliNews coverage of the June 23 blacklist/sanctions action and oil-supply pressure; New York Times and other analysis of Cuba's sweeping free-market overhaul; People's World/CubaHeadlines/CiberCuba commentary on the crisis and reform pressure; and National Catholic Reporter re-publication of the previously logged RNS report on faith groups trying to influence policy and deliver aid. No newly confirmed law, executive order, sanctions action, remittance/travel/banking/humanitarian exception, implementation step of Cuba's reforms, new religious-freedom restriction, or new concrete aid channel was identified beyond the items already logged on June 20–24.

Possible follow-up/help ideas remain unchanged: use vetted church/independent humanitarian channels; screen banks, logistics, and counterparties against the newest OFAC SDN changes; ask trusted Cuban church contacts about urgent medicine, shelf-stable food, power/lighting/battery, communications, and transport/fuel needs.

Key links:
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- OFAC June 23 Cuba designations: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260623
- OFAC Cuba sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/cuba-sanctions
- Federal Register Cuba search since 2026-06-24: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-06-24&order=newest&per_page=20
- USCIRF Cuba page: https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/cuba
- National Catholic Reporter re-publication of RNS faith-groups aid report surfaced today: https://www.ncronline.org/news/cuba-crisis-faith-groups-work-influence-policy-deliver-aid
- NYT free-market reform analysis surfaced today: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/world/americas/cuba-economy-overhaul.html

### 2026-06-26

Morning check completed. Sources checked: OFAC recent actions and Cuba sanctions pages; State Department Cuba travel-advisory page and State/Google News checks; Federal Register Cuba API filtered for publication date on or after 2026-06-25; Google News RSS sweeps for OFAC/sanctions, State Department, Reuters/AP/BBC/CBS/AFP-type coverage, free-market reform implementation, food/fuel/electricity/medicine shortages, church aid, and religious-freedom/humanitarian sources; USCIRF Cuba page.

Official updates: OFAC recent actions showed two newer non-Cuba items on June 25 (DR Congo-related designations/Russia GL/FAQs and a Venezuela-related general license), but the newest Cuba-specific OFAC item remains the June 23, 2026 action already logged. OFAC's Cuba sanctions page still lists Cuba General License 1 dated May 7, 2026, with no newer Cuba general license found today. Federal Register returned 0 Cuba-term documents published on or after 2026-06-25. The State travel-advisory page loaded today and remained the Cuba Travel Advisory page; no new Cuba travel-advisory or State Cuba release was found in the news/search checks.

News/humanitarian watch: June 25–26 searches mainly surfaced republications or commentary on already logged developments: Jamaica Observer and Norton Rose Fulbright coverage of the June 23 U.S. sanctions action; The Roys Report republication of the RNS faith-groups-aid story; ZENIT coverage of the Communion-host shortage support already noted; and continuing commentary on Cuba's emergency/free-market reform package. A Presbyterian Outlook item reported a church committee approval of a call for the U.S. embargo and sanctions on Cuba to be lifted, which is a faith-community advocacy signal but not a new law, executive action, sanctions change, humanitarian exception, or concrete aid delivery pathway. No newly confirmed official rule, sanctions action, travel/remittance/banking/humanitarian exception, implementation step of Cuba's reforms, new religious-freedom restriction, or new practical church-aid channel was identified beyond items already logged June 20–24.

Possible follow-up/help ideas remain unchanged: continue vetting faith-based/independent humanitarian channels; screen banks, logistics providers, counterparties, hotels, and state-linked entities against OFAC changes, especially the June 23 designations; ask trusted Cuban church contacts whether the urgent needs remain medicine, shelf-stable food, power/lighting/battery support, communications, and transport/fuel help for ministry.

Key links:
- OFAC recent actions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
- OFAC June 23 Cuba designations: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260623
- OFAC Cuba sanctions: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/cuba-sanctions
- State Cuba travel advisory: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/cuba-travel-advisory.html
- Federal Register Cuba search since 2026-06-25: https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?conditions%5Bterm%5D=Cuba&conditions%5Bpublication_date%5D%5Bgte%5D=2026-06-25&order=newest&per_page=20
- USCIRF Cuba page: https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/cuba
- The Roys Report republication of RNS faith-groups aid story: https://julieroys.com/faith-groups-answer-cuba-crisis-aid-advocacy/
- Presbyterian Outlook committee item surfaced today: https://pres-outlook.org/2026/06/committee-approves-call-for-u-s-embargo-and-sanctions-on-cuba-to-be-lifted/
