El Presidente Posted June 12 Posted June 12 https://www.euronews.com/2026/06/12/cuban-president-announces-economic-reforms-to-liberalise-the-embargo-hit-and-blockaded-isl Arguably the most important measure is the re-opening of the country's tourism sector to “new players” and “new modalities” to make use of the state-owned hotel stock, following the full or partial withdrawal of major foreign companies looking to avoid US sanctions. Tourism, one of the Caribbean nation's economic drivers, has been in deep crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation that has dramatically continued to deteriorate, particularly in recent months amid the ongoing sanctions, blockades and embargos imposed by the Trump administration. The reforms also extend to the agricultural sector, which will gain direct access to inputs, participation in the foreign exchange market and a reduction in bureaucratic procedures. In addition, Havana will scrap the role of state import companies, which by law acted as intermediaries in the country’s foreign trade, and will lift restrictions on vehicle imports. The Cuban leader also announced a reform of the state apparatus that aims to reduce the number of ministries, reiterating his intention to move towards the gradual phasing out of universal subsidies in order to "focus them on the most vulnerable groups."
ha_banos Posted June 12 Posted June 12 Too late it seems. What is getting in and out these days? Both through official channels and otherwise, I wonder?
Dadof3 Posted June 13 Posted June 13 I am guessing these measures are some sort of attempt to skirt around the more onerous US restrictions on doing business with the Cuban government if they can set up some sort of direct ownership in some hotels?
El Presidente Posted June 14 Author Posted June 14 On 6/13/2026 at 9:34 AM, ha_banos said: Too late it seems. What is getting in and out these days? Both through official channels and otherwise, I wonder? My understanding is bugger all. The threat of private company sanctions simply tightened the Cuba seige. Turkish airlines is the only remaining major European airline servicing Cuba as far as I know. Air China has maintained its Beijing-Madrid-Havana flights I believe. Aeroflot occasionally flies into Varadero. 1
El Presidente Posted June 14 Author Posted June 14 On the currency front: Looking at the weekly trend underscores this climb's magnitude. The dollar started June at 585 CUP, crossed the 600 CUP threshold on June 3, and continued its upward journey: 610 CUP on June 5, 625 on June 8, 635 on June 10, 640 on June 11, 650 on June 12, 655 on June 13, and finally, 660 on this Sunday. In just 14 days, the dollar surged by 75 CUP, translating to a more than 12% increase over two weeks. The euro followed a similar, albeit faster, trajectory: from 690 CUP on June 5 to 760 CUP this Sunday, a jump of 70 CUP in just nine days.
VeguerosMAN Posted June 14 Posted June 14 59 minutes ago, El Presidente said: My understanding is bugger all. The threat of private company sanctions simply tightened the Cuba seige. Turkish airlines is the only remaining major European airline servicing Cuba as far as I know. Air China has maintained its Beijing-Madrid-Havana flights I believe. Aeroflot occasionally flies into Varadero. I believe American Airlines regularly fly to Havana from Miami.
El Presidente Posted June 14 Author Posted June 14 8 minutes ago, VeguerosMAN said: I believe American Airlines regularly fly to Havana from Miami. I was referring to Euro/Asian airlines. US airlines are not subject to US sanctions as they have a separate route for approvals (OFAC or other). 1
gillmiller Posted June 15 Posted June 15 He is a funny guy. Economic reforms are always interesting because they can affect so many aspects of everyday life. It usually takes time before anyone knows whether the changes will really make a difference. Threads like this are a good reminder that every country faces its own challenges. I had been reading the Casper Star Tribune https://www.pissedconsumer.com/company/casper-star-tribune/customer-service.html earlier and ended up comparing headlines from different places. The world is never boring.
VeguerosMAN Posted June 15 Posted June 15 On 6/15/2026 at 6:02 AM, El Presidente said: I was referring to Euro/Asian airlines. US airlines are not subject to US sanctions as they have a separate route for approvals (OFAC or other). Ironically, the best way to get to Cuba is through US airlines.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now