Cuba launches sweeping economic reform package amid US sanctions and rising social pressures

On 18 June 2026 Cuba's National Assembly approved a 176‑measure reform package, the most extensive since the 1959 revolution, to steer the economy toward market mechanisms while keeping state control. The reforms lift the cap on private enterprises, permit entrepreneurs to own multiple businesses, authorise private banks, open the foreign‑exchange market and allow state firms to sell assets, issue stocks or declare bankruptcy. The universal ration book will be replaced by targeted assistance for the most vulnerable.

Vice‑Premier Eduardo Martínez Díaz presented the government's social agenda, noting historic health, education and sport achievements but warning that the US blockade and recent crises have strained indicators. A minimum wage rise from 2 100 to 3 210 Cuban pesos will affect all workers, and health services face drug shortages and a surgical‑wait list exceeding 100 000 patients.

US sanctions continue, with the State Department adding entities linked to the military conglomerate GAESA. Opposition figure Manuel Cuesta Morúa was briefly detained. Meanwhile, the Cuban‑American National Chamber of Commerce, formed by exiled entrepreneurs, unveiled a three‑year plan to channel diaspora capital, revive a stock exchange and create digital residency schemes, anticipating a "radical change" in Cuba within months.