标签： Cuba

On Sunday, July 13, 2026, Cuba’s top leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who serves as both First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, issued a public message of condolence via the social platform X following the passing of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Father Emir of the State of Qatar.

Opening his statement with a note of deep sorrow, Díaz-Canel honored the late Qatari statesman, describing him as a distinguished leader whose decisive work laid the foundation for Qatar’s growth into a modern, prosperous nation. Beyond his transformative contributions to Qatar’s domestic development, the Cuban president emphasized the late Emir’s outsized role in nurturing the longstanding, friendship-driven ties that bind Cuba and Qatar together.

Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani was not only a committed partner in advancing bilateral relations but also a close friend to the Cuban people and to Cuba’s iconic Commander-in-Chief, Díaz-Canel added.

In closing, the Cuban head of state reaffirmed that Cuba stands in solidarity with Qatar during this period of mourning. He extended the island nation’s sincere sympathies directly to current Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the entire Al-Thani family, the Qatari government, and the broader Qatari population, noting the deep fraternal connection between the two countries.

On Wednesday, July 9, 2026, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, led an inspection tour of domestic industrial entities based in Havana, accompanied by senior members of the Cuban government. The tour, part of Díaz-Canel’s ongoing regular outreach to working groups across the country, focused on facilities developing key solutions for national energy security, construction innovation, and long-term sustainable development, a core priority for Cuba amid prolonged external economic pressure.

Joining the president during the visit were Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera — both senior members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party — alongside multiple members of the Council of Ministers. The group’s first stop was a manufacturing workshop producing expanded polystyrene panels reinforced with electro-welded mesh, a cutting-edge prefabricated construction system designed primarily for structural wall assembly.

Industry representatives detailed the transformative benefits of this building technology: the prefabricated panel system cuts cement consumption by 20 to 30 percent and reduces steel usage by more than 50 percent, delivering a cost-effective, time-efficient, and high-performance solution for large-scale housing development across Cuba. As of the tour, construction teams had already completed foundation work for two models of comfortable residential buildings using the system, with projects underway in Havana as well as central and eastern regions of the country. Beyond traditional housing, the panel technology has also proven highly effective for cladding repurposed shipping container homes and insulated refrigerated containers, examples of which Díaz-Canel examined in person during the tour.

The second key stop on the presidential itinerary was a solar panel assembly plant, where facility leaders reported that more than 3,200 panels had already been manufactured in 2026 to date. This domestic production achievement has not only created new commercial opportunities for the Cuban renewable energy sector but has also allowed the facility to begin installing on-site photovoltaic power systems to operate independently of the national electric grid. This self-sufficiency measure is critical to avoiding production shutdowns amid the ongoing national energy crisis, which has stretched into its sixth month and been exacerbated by the tightening U.S. economic blockade and oil embargo against Cuba.

Looking ahead, facility officials announced that the plant will be able to scale up production dramatically once a shipment of new inverters and energy storage batteries for the photovoltaic sector arrives. The expanded supply will allow the facility to transition to a double-shift production schedule, ramping up output to 120 solar panels per day to meet growing domestic demand for renewable energy infrastructure.

Following the tour, President Díaz-Canel praised both facilities for developing modern, efficient, and practical solutions that address pressing national challenges. He called for the successful production models and innovative practices showcased during the visit to be replicated across other regions and industrial entities throughout Cuba to drive broader national development.

Rooted in a long-held national principle that consistent peacetime preparation is the most reliable deterrent to conflict, Cuba’s national defense framework continues to refine its local organizational structures to better address both community needs and exceptional scenarios. On a Saturday morning in July 2026, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of Cuba’s National Defense Council, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and President of the Republic, carried out an inspection visit to the Wajay Defense Zone, one of seven such operational zones located in Havana’s Boyeros municipality.

During the visit, Díaz-Canel held in-depth discussions with local defense personnel and stakeholders, receiving on-the-ground accounts of daily operations and collaborating to map out strategies for unlocking the full structural and organizational potential of local defense zones. The visit came as Cuban defense officials continue to strengthen the integration of Internal Order Groups into the broader work of local Defense Zones, a structural adjustment designed to enhance cross-stakeholder collaboration, streamline operational frameworks, and speed up the flow of critical information to serve both community welfare and emergency preparedness.

Unlike traditional defense structures that focus exclusively on wartime scenarios, Cuba’s Defense Zone model is integrated with local People’s Council governance, tying national defense preparedness directly to the daily quality of life for neighborhood residents. Officers on the ground emphasized during discussions that the full integration of Internal Order Groups into the Defense Zone structure enables more accurate problem identification, more effective utilization of on-the-ground data, more robust strategic analysis, and ultimately faster, more targeted implementation of solutions to challenges ranging from routine community issues to large-scale exceptional events.

During closing remarks, Díaz-Canel highlighted the unique contributions that Internal Order Groups have made to refining the organizational methodologies of local defense zones, working alongside existing established structures. He described the integrated model as a coherent, detail-oriented, flexible, and resolute approach to national defense and community organization that aligns with Cuba’s specific national context. The Cuban leader also praised the model for its ability to strengthen social cohesion by bringing together formal defense forces and local community members, improving operational outcomes at the individual district level across the municipality.

Díaz-Canel closed his remarks by thanking attendees for their detailed analysis and actionable input, reinforcing his conviction that deeper integration of working groups within Defense Zones will directly translate to better overall operational performance. He noted that Cuba already maintains abundant organizational resources for local defense, and that tailored, context-specific solutions can always be developed to match the unique characteristics of any given locality.

The visit was also attended by three senior members of Cuba’s Political Bureau: Army Corps General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, Minister of the Interior; Army Corps General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, First Deputy Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Chief of the General Staff; and Major General José Amado Ricardo Guerra, Secretary of the Council of Ministers.

On July 3, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, launched an on-site inspection tour of two of Havana’s most densely populated municipalities, Cerro and Marianao, to hold direct discussions with local leadership over strategies to mitigate the country’s deepening economic and social challenges, which have been amplified by long-standing U.S. sanctions. The current crisis has been further worsened by a months-long U.S.-imposed oil embargo that has strained core public services across the island.

During closed-door and open dialogues with members of both municipalities’ Defense Councils, the head of state centered his conversations on the most pressing issues facing local communities. Top among these priorities were electricity generation, which has been crippled by the six-month-old oil embargo, consistent drinking water access, municipal waste management, local bread production output, and social support for the country’s most vulnerable populations. The dialogue also expanded to cover a range of other critical topics: coordination with the non-state economic sector and its community-facing obligations, the renovation of underused public sports and cultural venues, the operational performance of the national Family Support System (SAF), planned programming for the summer holiday season, and targeted support for young people who are neither enrolled in education nor formally employed.

Meeting with representatives from local party bodies, municipal government branches, the Young Communist League, and mass grassroots organizations, Díaz-Canel emphasized that sustained, direct engagement with ordinary citizens is non-negotiable. He noted that many practical, effective solutions to local problems already emerge from community organizing, and leaders should prioritize elevating these on-the-ground perspectives when crafting policy.

As part of his tour, the president also met with young participants in the Community Youth Network, a pioneering domestic initiative that empowers young Cubans to lead neighborhood-level problem-solving. He received briefings on the network’s ongoing work, which includes targeted outreach to low-income vulnerable families, isolated elderly residents, and expecting mothers, alongside a wide range of community-focused cultural, athletic, educational, and public health promotion activities.

Díaz-Canel outlined a forward-looking policy framework for local governance, stressing that municipalities must actively prepare to assume greater administrative autonomy, while local business entities must gear up for expanded operational independence. He urged local leaders to build capacity to manage public-private partnerships involving foreign direct investment, closed foreign currency financing schemes, and commercial collaborations with both Cuban residents abroad and domestic Cuban stakeholders.

The president further detailed plans to unlock mutually beneficial economic collaboration between the state and non-state sectors at the municipal level, put underutilized productive infrastructure back into operation, and test diverse adaptive business models across all sectors of the local economy. By implementing these changes, he argued, Cuba can unleash the full productive potential of municipal-level economies, rapidly improve the range and availability of goods for the general public, strengthen household purchasing power, rebalance the wage-price relationship, and put the country on a sustainable path toward broad-based prosperity.

Accompanying Díaz-Canel on the tour was Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Party’s Central Committee. The municipal inspection series began earlier this week in Havana’s Playa municipality, and is scheduled to continue across all other municipalities of the Cuban capital in the coming days.

Havana, Cuba – In a celebratory ceremony marking four decades since the founding of the nation’s landmark Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), Cuban leaders and scientific stakeholders gathered to honor the revolutionary vision that built the country’s world-renowned biotech sector against long-standing geopolitical and economic challenges.

The event opened with a moment of recognition for Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, whose decades of contributions to advancing Cuban biotechnology were honored with a special institutional award from CIGB workers. Political Bureau member and CIGB Director General Marta Ayala Ávila presented the honor on behalf of the center’s staff, with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez — who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba — accepting the award on Castro’s behalf.

In his keynote address to CIGB workers, Díaz-Canel emphasized that the institution stands as a defining example of the resilience that has shaped Cuban national identity. Joined at the ceremony by Political Bureau member and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, the president traced CIGB’s origins to the forward-thinking vision of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who prioritized scientific investment long before biotechnology became a global priority.

Díaz-Canel recalled that as early as 1960, when nearly a quarter of Cuba’s population remained illiterate, Fidel Castro articulated a national vision centered on developing a generation of scientists and thinkers. That foundational commitment led to CIGB’s official founding in 1986, at a time when cutting-edge biotech research was limited almost exclusively to the world’s most industrialized nations. Díaz-Canel framed that founding decision as far more than a scientific investment: it was a politically transformative act rooted in humanist values that secured Cuba’s scientific, health and technological sovereignty, he said.

Against a decades-long economic blockade and resource scarcity, Cuba’s revolutionary leadership chose not to wait for outside powers to solve the nation’s challenges, instead betting on domestic talent and collective effort to build an indigenous biotech sector, Díaz-Canel added.

Forty years on, the results of that gamble are impossible to ignore. The president outlined a legacy of breakthrough milestones that have improved lives across Cuba and dozens of other countries, ranging from the interferon developed to curb Cuba’s 1981 dengue epidemic to the Abdala COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed and produced entirely at CIGB. He highlighted Heberprot-P, a one-of-a-kind treatment that reduces lower leg amputations from diabetic foot disease by up to 75 percent, alongside life-saving vaccines for hepatitis B and pentavalent Haemophilus influenzae type b, and widely recognized therapeutic products including streptokinase, Hebermin, Jusvinza and a range of interferons that have improved health outcomes globally.

Beyond human health, CIGB’s research has advanced Cuba’s goal of food sovereignty, Díaz-Canel noted. The institution’s Gavac and Porvac vaccines protect the nation’s cattle and swine herds, while new high-yield soybean and corn seed varieties are already being rolled out across national planting programs, with growing demand from Cuban farmers.

Today, CIGB continues to expand its research pipeline, with more than 40 active innovation projects in development, including candidate products HEBERSaVax, CIGB 300, CIGB 845 and CIGB 552. Díaz-Canel emphasized that CIGB is far more than a research hub: it is proof of what the Cuban Revolution can deliver when science is centered on public good, and a testament that Cuban scientists trained in the nation’s public education system can compete with the very best talent in the world.

He acknowledged that the sector has faced persistent headwinds, from the long-standing U.S. economic blockade to chronic resource shortages and technological barriers, but noted that every obstacle has served to accelerate Cuban biotech’s progress — a hallmark of Fidel Castro’s enduring legacy. Díaz-Canel expressed confidence that CIGB will continue to drive national progress as Cuba implements targeted economic transformations aimed at unlocking productive capacity, generating shared prosperity and advancing social justice.

Calling on the center’s workers to build on the revolutionary legacy, Díaz-Canel tied the next era of progress to the upcoming centennial of Fidel Castro’s birth, saying the milestone should serve as a catalyst for a new wave of innovation and achievement. “Fidel’s legacy calls upon you to continue being that beacon of innovation and progress that he envisioned,” he said. “Continue to be great.”

For her part, CIGB Director General Marta Ayala Ávila reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to advancing public health through science amid growing external aggression, saying the center’s staff is more dedicated than ever to improving the quality of life for the Cuban people.

The 40th anniversary ceremony included additional recognitions for the pioneering team that first produced leukocyte interferon in Cuba in May 1981, for long-serving CIGB staff who have contributed to the center’s work across four decades, and for domestic institutions that have partnered with CIGB to advance its mission over the years. The Cuban Workers’ Federation (CTC) also awarded CIGB its 85th Anniversary Seal, presented by CTC General Secretary Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez.

Four decades after its founding, CIGB has solidified its standing as a leading high-tech institution focused on the research, development, production and commercialization of vaccines and biotechnological innovations, with far-reaching impacts on human, animal and plant health, and across key sectors of the Cuban economy.

In a high-stakes gathering with top political and governmental leaders from Cuba’s western Pinar del Río province, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz has laid out an ambitious agenda to accelerate the country’s ongoing economic and social transformation, centered on cutting red tape and unlocking untapped productive potential across the region.

The core of Marrero Cruz’s directive centers on devolving greater authority to municipal governments, equipping local administrations to take on expanded decision-making responsibilities that were previously held by central bodies. He stressed that incremental, meeting-driven workstyles cannot deliver meaningful progress in this complex overhaul, calling for a fundamental review of outdated administrative systems to clear the way for change.

Provincial governor Eumelin González Sánchez detailed the early advances Pinar del Río has already made in aligning with the national reform framework. He reported that nine of the province’s municipalities have already secured the full complement of resources and regulatory approvals to launch new non-agricultural micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperative entities. To streamline operations and reduce public sector bloat, the province has completed restructuring of 1,575 positions at the provincial level and an additional 2,949 posts at the municipal level, generating more than 22 million pesos in cost savings that can be redirected to priority development initiatives.

González Sánchez highlighted several key strengths that position Pinar del Río to capitalize on the new economic reforms. The region now hosts 55 distinct production chains, marking a 12% expansion since the end of 2015, with six of these chains holding enough potential to evolve into formal economic associations. A fully operational export-import hub is already in place at the La Conchita Fruit and Vegetable Canning Company, and planning is advancing for a slate of new foreign direct investment projects across key sectors.

In a notable development that signals growing openness to global and diaspora engagement, the governor confirmed that four investment proposals from Cubans residing overseas are currently under active review. The proposals focus on high-priority areas for the province: energy development, domestic food production, and tourism infrastructure, all of which align with national economic priorities.

Marrero Cruz doubled down on the urgent need to cut through bureaucratic delays that have slowed the approval of new economic actors. He articulated a bold target for regulatory streamlining: “Our goal is for someone to be able to submit an application to work as a self-employed worker in the morning and be doing so by the afternoon.”

Looking ahead to the end of July, the prime minister outlined clear milestones for the reform process. He said significant progress is expected across multiple core reform pillars: granting expanded operational autonomy to state-owned enterprises, streamlining hierarchical management structures, developing robust non-state economic models, downsizing oversized central government agencies, implementing comprehensive salary reform, and building out modern social protection frameworks.

On the critical topic of social protection, Marrero Cruz emphasized that all economic policy adjustments must be paired with targeted social policy interventions to offset any unforeseen negative impacts of the transition, ensuring that vulnerable populations are supported through the reform process.

Beyond economic matters, the prime minister and his accompanying delegation of national ministers also reviewed preparations for upcoming national celebrations marking the July 26th Revolution, the main national holiday commemorating the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks that launched the Cuban Revolution. This year’s central commemorative events will be hosted in Pinar del Río, making the province the focus of national attention for the historic occasion.

HAVANA – July 1, 2026 – Cuba’s top governing body, the Council of Ministers, has finalized and outlined a clear implementation roadmap for the country’s long-planned economic and social reforms, with President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez framing the transformative package as a critical effort to preserve the nation’s revolutionary and socialist project amid decades of unprecedented external pressure.

Opening the high-stakes working session, which was led by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, Díaz-Canel – who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba – emphasized that the overarching goal of these reforms is to save the Revolution. “We are facing a complex dilemma that we can solve: how to give continuity to the process of socialist construction on a small Caribbean island that has suffered the longest blockade in the history of humanity by the most powerful nation in the world,” Díaz-Canel warned attendees.

He stressed that the Cuban people must meet this defining challenge without surrender, drawing strength from ideological firmness, national unity, responsibility, courage and strategic audacity. “Today, no country in the world is more attacked than Cuba, subject to a multidimensional war, and we have the responsibility, under these conditions, not only to save it, but also to continue perfecting our process of socialist construction,” the president added.

At the core of the reform agenda is a commitment to unlocking the country’s productive potential to generate shared wealth distributed through principles of social justice. Díaz-Canel instructed that any policy capable of unleashing productive forces must be rolled out immediately, to shift all economic actors away from the rigid operating dynamics outlined in previous economic plans. He also made leveling the playing field for all approved domestic economic actors a top priority, noting that all contributors to the reforms are aligned with Cuba’s socialist construction project and will support the country’s 2030 National Economic and Social Development Plan, the 2026 government social and economic program, and local territorial development strategies.

Legal certainty and transparent governance were highlighted as non-negotiable foundations for successful reform implementation. “The rules for everything we are going to do must be clear; there must be transparency so that we can monitor, from both a popular and institutional perspective, everything we do,” Díaz-Canel said. He also reiterated the urgency of clear public communication: the government must explain to citizens how each reform advances socialist construction, drives economic growth, improves outcomes for vulnerable populations, and strengthens the rights of all Cubans.

Widespread public participation is another central pillar of the rollout, the president emphasized, noting that effective reform cannot be implemented without buy-in and input from the Cuban population. “We haven’t exhausted any existing discussions; perhaps someone will propose something even better than what we’ve achieved so far, and where there’s a misunderstanding, we need to explain why and listen,” he said, calling for expanded open debate, consensus-building and adaptive thinking to navigate the extraordinarily complex domestic and global context. Closing his remarks, he urged leaders to align their approach with Fidel Castro’s foundational concept of the Cuban Revolution, stressing that success depends not just on implementing reforms, but implementing them well to deliver tangible results for the public.

The newly approved implementation roadmap, updated following extensive national consultation, integrates feedback from 673 public and expert proposals, 79% of which have been incorporated into the final plan to strengthen the rollout process. The input was collected following plenary sessions of the Communist Party Central Committee and the National Assembly of People’s Power, as well as targeted consultations with the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba and independent policy experts.

Prime Minister Marrero Cruz outlined key immediate priorities for the state sector, including devolving new autonomy to state-owned socialist enterprises, decentralizing wholesale and retail price approval to business entities, restructuring national business management bodies, granting provincial governments greater authority to create, merge and dissolve local state-owned enterprises, relaxing rules for after-tax profit allocation, and devolving salary scale approval to individual state enterprise systems.

For the non-state sector, a key set of reforms will cut red tape for new economic actors, speed up approval for pending non-agricultural micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives, raise the previous limit on employee headcount to allow firms to hire more than 100 workers, permit individual entrepreneurs to own multiple private businesses, expand the range of allowed business structures, and shorten the list of prohibited economic activities for non-state operators. For the agricultural sector, a top priority is updating land management and use rules for all economic actors and relaxing marketing restrictions to boost domestic food production.

In total, the reform agenda covers 23 critical policy areas and includes 176 distinct approved measures. The full text of the reform plan is publicly available on the official government platform (www.sovereignty.gob.cu) and the website of the Cuban Presidency (www.presidency.gob.cu). Marrero Cruz emphasized that all state bodies must update their internal work systems to dedicate sufficient time and analysis to implementation, noting that “the greatest transformation must be in our way of thinking.”

Justice Minister Rosabel Gamón Verde noted that the reforms require adjustments to existing national regulations and the drafting of new legal frameworks, confirming that the government will accelerate the legislative process while upholding core standards of legality, democratization, public participation, and regulatory quality. Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power, added that standard legislative timelines will be significantly shortened by eliminating unnecessary procedural steps, all while remaining fully aligned with the Cuban Constitution and maintaining required public consultations.

Beyond the reform roadmap, the Council of Ministers addressed a range of other pressing national agenda items during the session. Members reviewed an analysis of Cuban economic performance in the first half of 2026, which confirmed that the economy continues to face severe headwinds from the long-running U.S. blockade and oil embargo that disrupt all sectors of national life. The body also reviewed mid-year State Budget execution reports through the end of May, approved the final audit report for the 2025 national budget (which will be submitted to the next National Assembly session), and signed off on a plan for early job placement for higher education and mid-level technical program graduates who will complete their studies in 2027.

The meeting also received a progress report on national efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency, expand support for minors who have come into contact with the law for criminal acts or harmful behaviors, and intensify coordinated intervention across national law enforcement bodies, central government agencies, and civil society organizations nationwide.