Cuba banking crisis causes long queues in Las Tunas

Residents in Las Tunas, Cuba, are facing significant difficulties withdrawing cash due to persistent technical failures. Reports indicate that long queues, sometimes consisting of 25 to 40 people, form outside bank branches as citizens wait under the sun for services that are frequently interrupted by connection outages and power issues with banking terminals.

This situation reflects a broader banking crisis across the island. In Havana, lines at Banco Metropolitano branches have reportedly extended over eight hours, while in Holguín, Banco Popular de Ahorro has been closing early. In Guantánamo, a large majority of retirees must visit branches monthly to collect pensions, yet the local Banco de Crédito y Comercio is only able to manage a fraction of the daily required cash intake.

To mitigate the crisis, authorities have begun utilizing private businesses to assist with pension disbursements. In some eastern provinces, over 1,000 contracts have been signed with economic actors to help distribute cash to tens of thousands of retirees.