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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel accused the United States of hypocrisy for promoting private enterprise while imposing new restrictions on privately-owned Cuban businesses, as Cuba announced sweeping economic reforms.
Cuba n President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Friday accused the United States of hypocrisy for promoting private enterprise on the island while imposing new restrictions against privately-owned Cuba n businesses.
The remarks came as Cuba announced a package of economic reforms that gives private enterprise unprecedented latitude. The reforms were approved by parliament in June. The measures allow private businesses to employ more than 100 workers, participate in financial and currency markets, import and export goods without state intermediaries, hire workers directly and gain access to more idle land. Diaz-Canel hosted a podcast with Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to discuss the implementation of the economic reform package.
Cuba's Economic Opening: A Step Toward Capitalism
Both reiterated that the Cuban government does not intend to embrace capitalism. However, the package moves Cuba toward the kind of economic opening the United States has demanded for decades, even as Washington maintains sanctions that Havana describes as an energy blockade. We are not going to stop, Diaz-Canel said, rejecting assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Cuba is a failed state.
At the same time, he rejected the latest U.S. sanctions, which this week revoked the permission previously granted by former U.S. President Joe Biden for small Cuban private entrepreneurs to open accounts in U.S. banks. No figures are available on how many Cuban entrepreneurs hold such accounts, but independent analysts on the island described the move as a setback for the development of private enterprise.
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, Diaz-Canel added. The Cuban president made similar comments during a rally in support of former President Raul Castro in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana. The event took place on Friday, May 22, 2026. Diaz-Canel was accompanied by Raul Castro's grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, among others.
U.S. Sanctions Block Private Enterprise Growth in Cuba
The rally underscored the ongoing tensions between Cuba and the United States over economic policy and sanctions. U.S. officials have not yet responded to Diaz-Canel's accusations. The revocation of banking access is part of a broader set of measures targeting Cuba's private sector. Analysts say the move could hinder the growth of small businesses on the island, which have become an increasingly important part of the Cuban economy in recent years.
Diaz-Canel's speech highlighted the contradiction he sees in U.S. policy: promoting private initiative while restricting access to international banking for those same entrepreneurs. The Cuban government has long criticized U.S. sanctions, calling them a blockade that harms the Cuban people. The latest restrictions add another layer to the complex relationship between the two countries. U.S. sanctions have deepened the economic crisis gripping the island for five years.
Cubans have endured blackouts lasting more than 30 hours, transportation disruptions, flight cancellations and a sharp decline in production. As Cuba moves forward with its economic reforms, the impact of U.S. sanctions on private businesses remains uncertain. The government says it will continue to support the private sector within the framework of socialism.
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CP24:Díaz-Canel questions U.S. measures over new restrictions on Cuban private firmsThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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