Habanos S.A.

The company that holds worldwide marketing and distribution rights to Cuban cigars. Formed in the 1990s, it has long operated as a joint venture between the Cuban state and a foreign partner, with ownership on the non-Cuban side changing hands over the years.

Habanos controls what Cuban cigars are released, in what quantity, and at what price outside Cuba, making it the single most consequential body in the Cuban side of the trade.