Cuba Responds to Intensified US Sanctions with Wide‑Scale Economic Reform

Cuban President Miguel Diaz‑Canel said the United States is increasing pressure on Havana after its recent sanctions targeting five Cuban entities and a member of the Castro family, aiming to cut revenue, fuel, and technology flows. He wrote on X, “US aggression on Cuba has never stopped, and it intensifies as they cannot defeat us.”

In response, the Cuban government announced a sweeping economic restructuring plan comprising 176 measures. The reforms would expand private enterprise, allow banks and multiple businesses to be owned by individuals, open real estate development, permit the sale of state assets to domestic and foreign buyers, and relax many prohibitions on commercial activity. Officials said the changes are intended to revive a severely weakened economy, but experts warned that without relief from U.S. sanctions the reforms may struggle to take effect. Economist Pedro Monreal noted, “The problem is not whether they come early or late, but whether they work.”