(CNN)  -- The brief detention in Havana, Cuba, last week of a Portland, Oregon, church group comes on the heels of the detention of an American contractor and could indicate an increasingly chilly reception for some American visitors, according to the church travelers. The December 26 trip for 14 members of the First Unitarian Church of Portland is a reminder of the entrenched tensions between Cuba and the United States despite the Obama administration's loosening of previous restrictions. The church group was traveling on a U.S.-issued license and planned to do humanitarian work. The group was denied entry to Cuba. Part of the group spent the night detained inside the Havana airport before being put on a plane to Mexico, the church's social justice minister, the Rev. Kate Lore, told CNN.
@highlight
Incident could indicate an increasingly chilly reception for some American visitors
@highlight
Group traveling on a U.S.-issued license, planned to do humanitarian work
@highlight
Cuban authorities put five back on plane to Mexico; rest spend night on airport floor
@highlight
In another recent incident, an American contractor was detained
Jones said she told the Cuban officials, "We love the @placeholder.