Short answer: the United States has banned the import and sale of Cuban cigars since the embargo began in 1962. A brief window allowing travelers to bring some back was closed in 2020. Selling them here is illegal, which is why no legitimate US retailer carries them.
The short history
The embargo against Cuba took effect in 1962 and covered Cuban goods, tobacco included. It has been adjusted repeatedly since, but the prohibition on commercial import of Cuban cigars has held.
Travel rules loosened in 2016, letting travelers bring back limited quantities for personal use. Those allowances were rolled back in 2020. Commercial sale was never permitted at any point.
What that means when you shop
- Any US retailer advertising Cuban cigars is selling something that is counterfeit, illegal, or both.
- Cuban brand names like Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann also exist as non-Cuban brands made in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua or Honduras. Those are legal, and they are what you find here. See Montecristo.
- La Aroma de Cuba is a revived Cuban brand name, made in Nicaragua.
Are Cuban cigars better?
They are different. Cuban tobacco has a distinct character, but Dominican and Nicaraguan cigars compete with it directly — Opus X exists because the Fuente family set out to prove a Dominican puro could stand alongside anything from Cuba.
What we sell
Only legal, authorized product from authorized distribution, shipped from our walk-in humidor in Yuma, Arizona. $9.99 flat shipping, free on orders of $125 or more; orders ship within 1–2 business days.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
