Donald Trump has threatened to cut Venezuelan shipments of oil to Cuba, exerting further pressure on its economy.
![A power failure left Havana, Cuba, in the dark on December 3 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-03T150929Z_819452323_RC209IAKNZWK_RTRMADP_3_CUBA-CRISIS-BLACKOUT-1764781799.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Cuba’s economy shrank by 11 percent in 2020, the sharpest contraction since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Cuba’s musicians have long supported the state but many are speaking out in favour of protesters.
Authorities will also unify Cuba’s two currencies, keeping the peso but eliminating the convertible peso, Reuters said.
Cuba wants to jump start a state-dominated economy hit hard by Venezuela’s implosion, US sanctions and a pandemic.
‘From the economic point of view, the pandemic has been terrible for me, but I hope everything will return to normal.’
A hostile Trump administration and crises in Venezuela have left the landmark Obama-era detente hanging in the balance.
The EU says it will continue helping Cuba to develop its economy following reimposition of US sanctions.
Rights group says detentions show not much has changed since Raul Castro handed over power to a younger leader in 2018.
The electoral law allows for both a president and a prime minister but bars a multiparty system.
US National Security Advisor Bolton announces new restrictions and sanctions against the three countries.
![As tourism dried up, the Cuban economy shrank 11 percent in 2020, according to Economy Minister Alejandro Gil, its deepest slump since the collapse of the Soviet Union [File: Natalia Favre/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/373529474.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![Some of Cuba's most famous musicians have spoken out in support of anti-government protests [File: Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AP20016021831948.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
