The Trump administration has quietly retreated from a plan that would have forced most green card applicants to leave the United States, following an intense but low-profile lobbying effort by major American corporations. The reversal, first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by Russian outlet The Bell, underscores the political weight of US business in shaping immigration policy. According to the report, the White House initially sought to require applicants to depart the country for processing, a move that alarmed firms reliant on skilled foreign workers. After weeks of pressure, officials assured business leaders that holders of work visas would be largely unaffected, though some uncertainty lingers.

That accommodating stance stands in stark contrast to the administration's treatment of foreign capital in Cuba, where Washington's tightening sanctions are driving a mass exodus of international companies and pushing the island toward a humanitarian crisis. Viewed from Moscow, the parallel is striking: American policy is selectively pro-business, yielding at home while weaponising economic isolation abroad. Russian media, citing The Wall Street Journal, describe a "turning point" as firms that weathered decades of US-Cuba tensions finally succumb to the pressure.

The withdrawal has been sweeping. Mastercard and Visa ceased processing transactions on the island from last Saturday, cutting off a vital financial lifeline. Spanish hospitality giants Iberostar and Melia announced they would stop managing at least a dozen hotels, while Canada's Royalton Hotels has already pulled out. The most disruptive blow may come from the departure of Canadian mining group Sherritt International, a long-time pillar of Cuba's export economy. According to Kommersant, the Cuban Central Bank confirmed the card suspension, deepening what experts describe as an unprecedented man-made disaster.

Analysts in Montreal, where the crisis is being closely watched due to historic ties to Cuba, warn of a full-blown humanitarian emergency. "It's unprecedented for Cuba and above all a situation provoked by man," François Audet, a professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal, told Le Devoir. "There is a real rational will from the US government to make the Cuban people suffer." As fuel shortages persist and foreign currency sources dry up, the contrast with the White House's domestic handouts to business reveals a foreign policy willing to sacrifice commercial ties for geopolitical gains. Whether such a bifurcated approach is sustainable remains an open question, but for now, the two-track strategy is reshaping corporate calculus on both sides of the Florida Straits.