HAVANA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Four Points by Sheraton Havana, the only hotel operated by a U.S. company in Cuba, was forced by Washington to cease operation, which aimed to increase economic pressure on the Caribbean country, a Cuban expert has said.

Ricardo Torres, a senior researcher at Havana's Center for the Studies of the Cuban Economy, made the remarks after the U.S. hotel chain Marriott International formally notified the end of hotel operations in the Caribbean country on Aug. 31.

"Although over the past few months the hotel had been shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it stood as a symbol of the U.S.-Cuba detente under the Obama administration," he told Xinhua.

"The current U.S. administration's policy toward the Caribbean country is meant to increase economic pressure and undermine hard currency sources for the Cuban economy," he said in a recent interview about the impact of the U.S. embargo against the country.

In that regard, Torres said, the Trump administration has also been limiting the amount of remittances Cuban Americans can send back to their families on the island as well as attacking Cuban medical assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The United Nations and the international community have urged the U.S. government to lift unilateral economic sanctions against many countries during the global health emergency, but it has been ignored," he said.

Marriott became the first U.S. hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the victory of the socialist revolution, he said, but the U.S. Treasury Department in June ordered the company to wind down operation of the Four Points by Sheraton Havana by Aug. 31.

As far as the U.S. policy toward the island is concerned, Torres said, it is not guided by principles but out of political reasons at the moment, adding that the U.S. administration has been hostile to enemies and allies alike.

"Under the Obama detente, the United States ranked second after Canada in terms of international arrivals on the island, gaining some ground on the Cuban tourism industry," he said.

"Marriott planned to operate new facilities such as the Inglaterra hotel in Havana," but the U.S. administration deprived the global hotel chain of the right to continue investing on the island, he added.

The expert also said that U.S. companies are not benefiting from the huge potential of Cuba as a business and tourist destination while the sanctions are in place.

"Also, U.S. commercial and charter flights to Cuba have been restricted and U.S. cruise ships banned from sailing to Cuban ports. We are seeing an escalation of a U.S. aggressive policy against the island nation," he said, adding that the White House is responsible for the worsening bilateral ties over the past few years. Enditem

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