Cuba loosens control of its private sector in a struggle with a mounting
humanitarian crisis
[July 30, 2026] By
ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ and ARIEL FERNÁNDEZ
HAVANA (AP) — In an effort to fend off a mounting humanitarian crisis,
Cuba on Wednesday eased up on longtime restrictions on private vendors
and imports, opening up a sector firmly controlled by the Communist-led
government.
The reforms would allow for the import and resale of some goods and
medicines from other countries, loosen restrictions on oil extraction
for foreign companies and implement other changes at a time when the
country is plagued by medical and energy shortages.
While private enterprise has slowly opened in recent years, many sales
on the country's informal market have long existed in a gray area — not
technically legal but widely used by Cubans struggling to survive the
day-to-day hardships.
The measures, which were approved by the parliament last month and went
into effect on Wednesday, are expected to bring about a significant
shift on the island, where the economy and industry have been strictly
controlled by the government since the 1960s.
The reforms come as Cuba has been pushed to the brink by an oil blockade
imposed by the United States in January. The move by the Trump
administration, meant to put pressure on the government, worsened
already crippling blackouts, cut workers off from public transport,
crippled infrastructure and deepened shortages in medicine and food.
Last month, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the reforms were
necessary because the country “simply cannot continue on its current
course.”
In total, the government said it was removing 46 of the 125 prohibitions
it had on private industry, and relaxed 35 other regulations.
Still, many bans remain in place — tobacco production, long a staple of
the Caribbean island, would remain in state hands. So would internet
access, newspaper publishing and radio broadcasting.
The easing of restrictions appeared to target specific areas hardest hit
by the ongoing crisis.
Medicines, largely purchased through massive groups on apps like
Telegram and WhatsApp on the informal market, would now also be sold by
private pharmacies. Shelves in state-owned pharmacies selling subsidized
medicine are often empty.
Many welcomed the loosening of the restrictions.
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An image of Fidel Castro hangs on the wall of a state-run pharmacy
where a woman asks for medication in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, July
29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
 Francisco Carbajal, a 71-year-old
retiree who suffers from seizures, said it gives him hope things
would improve.
“What I really want is that there are medications available, because
I have diabetic neuropathy and carbamazepine hasn’t arrived at my
pharmacy in a long time,” he said as he sat on a street in Havana,
the capital. “Without it, I’m helpless, because I get epileptic
seizures.”
The government also gave the green light for private care facilities
for elderly Cubans — many young Cubans who would have traditionally
cared for their aging relatives have migrated abroad.
The new measures would also make it easier to import electric
vehicles, which are rapidly becoming a crucial alternative to get
around the island where the public transport system has largely
collapsed due to gasoline shortages.
Restrictions will also ease on Cuba's decaying oil sector, making it
easier for foreign investors and private businesses.
Cuba’s government had already made moves to loosen restrictions on
private industry over the last few decades.
Cubans were allowed to seek self-employment and in a massive shift
in 2021 — after the tourism-driven economy was roiled by the
coronavirus pandemic and a migratory flight from the island began to
pick up — authorities allowed the creation of small businesses.
These latest reforms “truly allow and facilitate the participation
of non-state economic actors in the country’s economy,” said Lázara
Mercedes López Acea, president of the National Institute of
Non-State Economic Actors, who presented the new regulations.
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