Glenda Boza Ibarra

Amid rising mobile data costs from state-run Etecsa, eSIMs—virtual SIM cards that enable internet access via smartphones—are gaining attention in Cuba. Though they still rely on Cubacel’s network, some users say the connections are more stable. But the option comes with several limitations.

Cuban economist Miguel Alejandro Hayes dismantles official economic figures and exposes the true scale of Cuba’s collapse. His analysis offers a critical approximation of the island’s economic reality using alternative methods amid a lack of government transparency.

On May 6, the Cuban military-owned Tiendas Caribe opened a new dollar-only wholesale store in the Mariel Special Development Zone — but private business owners are sounding the alarm. While the state sells in USD, entrepreneurs still can’t charge in foreign currency, forcing them to buy dollars on the black market at triple the official rate. Is this really support for private enterprise or just another layer of control?

Airbnb has paused payments and experiences in Cuba, leaving many hosts without income. The move highlights growing challenges for the island’s private tourism sector.

Would you like a few more ultra-compact options in case you need them for different platforms like social media or newsletters?

Many elderly Cubans struggle to survive with inadequate food and support, as the government turns a blind eye to their suffering. Behind the official narrative, poverty and neglect define the daily reality of countless citizens.

The fact that there is often not even rice on the Cuban table is yet another sign of the worsening economic—and productive—crisis on the island. During other periods of scarcity, this grain had been the only dish for many families.

At the end of December 2024, several people wrote to elTOQUE expressing concerns about rumors regarding a possible elimination of the magnetic MLC for shopping in government stores priced in US dollars.

The opening of the new supermarket 3ra y 70, located under the Gran Muthu Habana Hotel, dominated the headlines of Cuba’s independent press in the first days of 2025. Social media reactions, citizen reports, and press coverage highlight the widespread indignation among Cubans over the store’s policy: purchases can only be made with cash in foreign currency or international and certain domestic cards.

In December 2023, during his speech to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz promised that in 2024, the “mechanisms for supervision and regulation of the governmental control system over the private sector” would improve. 

Almost four years after the monetary unification that forced many Cubans to convert their “foreign currency savings accounts” into “certificates of deposit”. The excuse given to Daymi, Iran, and other clients of any Cuban bank is almost always the same: “we don’t have liquidity.”

A meeting of private business owners with a Deputy Minister of Finance and Prices exposes tensions over new price caps.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury announced significant amendments to several embargo regulations on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. These amendments aim to expand Internet access and promote private entrepreneurship in Cuba.

The appearance of a truck carrying sacks of rice and another with powdered milk after the protest that took place in Santiago de Cuba on March 17, 2024, was no coincidence. The authorities in the eastern city attempted to appease the citizens with some food.

The shortage of condoms has led to an increase in sexually transmitted infections and a reported increase in the number of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.