You cannot legally sell Cuban cigars in the US. The federal embargo on Cuba prohibits any person subject to US jurisdiction from purchasing, importing, transporting, or otherwise dealing in Cuban-origin merchandise, and cigars are squarely within that ban.1eCFR. 31 CFR 515.204 – Importation of and Dealings in Certain Merchandise It does not matter whether you are a licensed tobacco retailer, a private collector unloading a humidor, or someone posting a single box online. The prohibition treats them all the same.
What Counts as Selling
The Cuban Assets Control Regulations define “person” broadly to include individuals, partnerships, corporations, and any other organization.2eCFR. 31 CFR Part 515 – Cuban Assets Control Regulations A corner tobacco shop, a private collector, and a multinational distributor are equally barred from dealing in Cuban cigars.
The prohibited transactions are broader than most sellers assume:
- Retail sales through any brick-and-mortar store.
- Private sales to a friend, at a flea market, or through a classified ad.
- Online listings, including on foreign sites that ship to US addresses. Major online marketplaces prohibit Cuban cigar listings outright, including pre-embargo items, to stay clear of the embargo.
- Trades, swaps, and any dealing that involves something of value in exchange for the cigars.
The reach extends to any merchandise of Cuban origin, anything that has been in or transported through Cuba, and anything derived in whole or in part from Cuban products.1eCFR. 31 CFR 515.204 – Importation of and Dealings in Certain Merchandise A cigar blended in a third country using Cuban-grown tobacco is still off-limits.
Penalties for Selling Cuban Cigars
The Office of Foreign Assets Control enforces the embargo, and it can go after violators through civil fines or refer cases to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
Civil Fines
OFAC can impose civil penalties without any criminal case. The maximum civil penalty under the Trading with the Enemy Act is adjusted annually for inflation and currently stands at $111,308 per violation.3Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties Each transaction can be treated as a separate violation, so someone who sold a dozen boxes could face liability well into seven figures. OFAC does not have to prove you knew the cigars were Cuban or that you intended to break the law. Negligent violations can trigger civil liability on their own.
Criminal Fines and Prison
Willful violations are prosecuted under the Trading with the Enemy Act. A conviction carries a fine of up to $1,000,000, and for individuals, imprisonment of up to 20 years. The government can also seize the cigars themselves along with any property connected to the violation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 4315 – Offenses; Punishment; Forfeitures of Property
Criminal cases are more common when sales are systematic: an ongoing business, bulk importation, or fraudulent labeling designed to hide Cuban origin. A one-off sale between friends is more likely to draw a civil penalty. Nothing in the criminal statute, though, sets a minimum scale.
State Tobacco License
A retailer caught selling Cuban cigars also risks their state tobacco license. Most states can suspend or revoke a dealer’s license for selling prohibited products, and losing it shuts the business down. In practical terms, that consequence often lands harder than the federal fine.
The Pre-Embargo Exception
There is one narrow exception. Cigars manufactured in Cuba and exported before the embargo took effect on February 7, 1962, were never illegally imported, so dealing in them is not prohibited in the same way.5GovInfo. Proclamation 3447 – Embargo on All Trade With Cuba, February 3, 1962
In practice this exception rarely helps anyone. Any qualifying cigar is more than six decades old. The seller carries the entire burden of proving pre-embargo origin with reliable documentation: receipts, provenance records, or other verifiable proof of when the cigar left Cuba. Without that proof, OFAC treats the cigar like any other Cuban product. Genuine pre-embargo cigars are collector items, not something you will run into in an ordinary sale. Several major online marketplaces have gone a step further and banned pre-embargo Cuban listings entirely.
Cigars You Already Own
Some people brought Cuban cigars into the country legally between 2015 and September 2020, when travelers returning under authorized categories could import up to $100 worth for personal use. That window closed on September 24, 2020, when OFAC eliminated all authorizations for importing Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products.6Federal Register. Cuban Assets Control Regulations7Office of Foreign Assets Control. FAQ 837
Cigars imported during that earlier window were lawfully brought in at the time. Selling or trading them now is still a prohibited transaction, because the ban on dealing in Cuban-origin goods applies regardless of when the goods entered the country. Legal to own, not legal to sell.
Counterfeits Are Their Own Problem
A large share of “Cuban cigars” changing hands through back channels in the US are fakes: non-Cuban cigars in counterfeit Cohiba or Montecristo bands and boxes. Selling those creates a separate legal exposure for trademark fraud on top of the embargo issue. If the cigars are real, you face OFAC. If they are counterfeit, you face the trademark holders and potentially criminal counterfeiting charges. There is no legal upside on either side of that transaction, and buyers have no recourse when the product turns out to be neither authentic nor legal.
If a deal on Cuban cigars looks easy to close inside the US, that is the strongest sign something is wrong with it. Authentic Cuban cigars do not circulate legally in any US retail or resale market, and the penalties for treating them like they do are steep enough to end a business and, in serious cases, put a person in federal prison.