Cuba freezes foreign currency accounts for all foreign companies operating in the country

The regime of Cuba is notifying foreign companies that they will not be able to extract or transfer abroad foreign currency currently deposited in banks in the country, as confirmed by the EFE agency after several business and diplomatic sources confirmed.

The measure extends to the entire foreign sector financial restrictions that had been applied on a limited basis since the beginning of the year.

In parallel, the official authorities are offering companies the possibility of opening new so-called "real" bank accounts, which must be fed exclusively with foreign currency from abroad. Unlike the current accounts, these would allow -at least in theory - cash withdrawals and international transfers.

However, some firms reported to EFE problems even with these new accounts to repatriate funds.

The mechanism generalizes a pilot model applied in the first half of the year and is part of the Government Program to Correct Distortions and Boost the Economy, an anti-crisis plan that contemplates a new management and allocation of foreign exchange on the island, which is going through one of the worst moments in its history.

Impact on the diplomatic corps

The Cuban Foreign Ministry also gathered the diplomatic corps accredited in Havana to inform them of a similar procedure. As explained by the executives, only funds deposited as of a date soon to be announced may be withdrawn or transferred abroad, while the availability of previous deposits is not guaranteed.

These decisions are evidence of the serious banking, economic and financial crisis that Cuba is going through, where many foreign companies are facing serious difficulties due to the lack of liquidity of the state banking system. Added to this is a profound exchange rate distortion: while legal entities are obliged to operate at an official rate of 24 pesos to the dollar, the informal rate exceeds 450 pesos.

The restrictions come months after foreign companies were forced to pay in dollars both the rent for their offices in state-owned buildings and the salaries of their employees, which are managed through a state intermediary that charges a commission.

Neither the Cuban regime nor the Central Bank have publicly reported on these measures or offered an official explanation. Experts consulted by EFE consider that the authorities could have used the previous funds in foreign currency to meet urgent payments abroad.

Epidemic explodes in Cuba: More than 47,000 cases of dengue fever and chikungunya

This news comes in the midst of an epidemiological crisis that has kept the Cuban population on edge, while the government denied the situation for weeks.

Finally, the health authorities of the Caribbean country reported that 47,125 people are currently hospitalized with symptoms of dengue or chikungunya, more than double the number of cases previously recognized by the regime. Last week, Cuba declared  the situation as an epidemic of these arboviruses for the first time.

In one day alone, 1,706 new suspected cases and 3,226 hospitalizations were recorded. In addition, 126 patients with chikungunya are in serious, critical condition or intensive care, including 19 minors.

Epidemiology director Francisco Durán admitted that there is significant underreporting, as many people do not go to medical centers and the country lacks sufficient diagnostic tests, so most cases are identified only by symptoms.

Between October and early November, Cuba reported 15,590 cases of chikungunya, reaching a cumulative incidence of 183.43 cases per 100,000 population, the highest in the Americas in 2025.

Prevention and control efforts, such as fumigation and diagnostic tests, have been weakened by the severe economic crisis, exacerbating the impact of the outbreak nationwide.