Cuba unveils major economic reforms as US pressure intensifies

President Miguel Díaz‑Canel accused the United States of mounting an “economic, media and psychological war” against Cuba, saying that external money is being used as a weapon to turn the suffering of the Cuban people into a tool against the island. He linked the campaign to intensified sanctions and threats from the Trump administration, which has renewed a decades‑long embargo, threatened force, and sought to cut off oil and other essential supplies, worsening shortages in energy, health, food and transport.

In response, the Cuban government announced a sweeping opening of its economy. It will gradually allow private and foreign investors into previously state‑controlled sectors such as banking, real estate and agriculture, and will permit members of the Cuban diaspora, especially those in the United States, to invest under the same conditions as other foreign investors. The reforms are described as far more extensive than the limited 2010 changes, though no political liberalisation is promised.