Cuba Economic Overhaul: President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced sweeping 2026 reforms to “liberalise” Cuba’s economy amid US pressure, including cutting ministries, giving state firms more autonomy, loosening fiscal support for inefficient enterprises, expanding private-sector activity, and allowing Cubans abroad to invest on equal terms—plus a major push to reopen tourism to “new players” and new deal formats. US Sanctions Hit Energy: The US imposed fresh sanctions on state oil and gas firm Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), and Havana’s leaders and CUPET itself denounced it as another tightening of the energy blockade, warning it will disrupt fuel operations and worsen shortages. Fuel Crisis Reality Check: Díaz-Canel acknowledged the scale of the energy problem, saying that in the last five months only one oil tanker reached the island, as blackouts and diesel shortages continue. Tourism Pressure Point: With foreign hotel operators pulling back under sanctions, Cuba’s reforms explicitly target tourism’s collapse by expanding who can run and invest in the sector. Currency Watch: In the informal market, the dollar and euro kept climbing—USD at 650 CUP and EUR at 740 CUP—while MLC slipped to 425 CUP as the energy crisis deepened. Diaspora Solidarity: In Chile, Cubans raised funds in hours to repatriate the ashes of Yusleidys Rodríguez to Cuba after a medical emergency and urgent paperwork deadlines.