Cuba: Stores & Gas Stations in US Dollars Continue to Grow

In early May 2025, El Toque published a list of the dollar stores we were able to find in Cuba. At that time, we counted 85 establishments that sold their products exclusively in foreign currency. Now, five months later, we count 209 — an increase of 146%.

In January 2025, a representative of the Caribe and Cimex chains had assured that dollar stores would not exceed 7% of their total locations — that is, around 130 markets.

That promise didn’t last long. In March 2025, authorities announced that there would be more than 200-dollar stores. In addition, we also identified more than 60 gas stations selling fuel in dollars.

The accelerated advance of the dollarization of the island’s economy is evident. However, the government tends to blame external actors for the rise in prices and the constant depreciation of the Cuban peso.

According to the Observatory of Currencies and Finances (OMFI), when the dollar broke the 400 peso barrier, the recent rise of the US dollar in the informal market is linked to the fact that citizens have fewer and fewer places to buy essential goods.

“The declining interest in holding and purchasing the MLC magnetic currency and Cuban pesos reduces their demand in the informal exchange market, which in turn drives their further depreciation,” explained Pavel Vidal Alejandro, economist and senior researcher of OMFI.

The increasing cost of foreign currency makes it harder — and more unequal — for families to access dollarized markets. Buying dollars with income earned in Cuban pesos is nearly impossible for those who depend solely on their peso salaries, whether office or skilled workers, clerks, or professionals.

It’s a story that people know very well. In 2020, the government said that MLC stores would supply the CUC stores (now defunct) and Cuban peso stores. That didn’t happen. In 2025, there are fewer and fewer MLC stores, and those that remain have very limited stock. Many of the ones still operating are suddenly converted overnight into dollar-only establishments.

In some cases, the products on sale are the same, but now with price tags expressed in dollars. According to customer testimonies, in other cases the merchandise comes from nearby MLC stores.

According to El Toque’s findings, the sudden closure of a store, whether with a notice on the door or none at all, is often the clearest sign of its conversion to the dollar system.

It is notable that, in many cases, the stores converted to sales in dollars are not small or newly opened ones, but rather some of the largest establishments in each provincial capital and in Havana itself.

Payment in these stores can be made only in cash US dollars or with international credit or debit cards, and the national dollarized Clasica, AIS, and Tropical cards.

This article was translated into English from the original in Spanish.