Havana – President Miguel Díaz‑Canel told a podcast with Prime Minister Manuel Marrero on Friday that the United States is acting hypocritically by promoting private enterprise on the island while tightening restrictions on Cuban‑owned businesses.
New economic reforms under pressure
The administration highlighted a reform package approved by parliament in June that expands private sector freedoms. The measures let private firms employ more than 100 workers, trade directly in financial and currency markets, import and export goods without state intermediaries, hire staff directly and access idle land.
While Díaz‑Canel and Marrero stressed that Cuba does not intend to adopt capitalism, the reforms move the country toward the kind of market opening the United States has long demanded.
U.S. sanctions spark criticism
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have labeled Cuba a “failed state.” Díaz‑Canel rejected that label and also condemned the latest U.S. sanctions, which this week rescinded a permission granted by former President Joe Biden that allowed small Cuban private entrepreneurs to open accounts in U.S. banks.
Independent analysts on the island said the revocation is a setback for private‑enterprise development, noting that no data are available on how many Cuban entrepreneurs held such accounts.
Impact on the Cuban people
U.S. sanctions have deepened the island’s five‑year economic crisis, contributing to blackouts lasting more than 30 hours, transportation disruptions, flight cancellations and a sharp decline in production.
“Now they are attacking that sector as well, making it increasingly clear that there is no interest or willingness to benefit our people — that it is all a lie, all a fallacy,” Díaz‑Canel said.
The Cuban government says it will continue to push forward with the reform agenda despite external pressure.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
