While Cubans are struggling to find food and the most basic items to survive, the communist Castro dictatorship opened a store that only accepts payments in U.S. dollars. Unlike the state-run stores that accept Cuban pesos, which are bare, this store is fully stocked and offers a wide variety of goods, as long as you have dollars to pay their exorbitant prices.
News of the store brimming with all sorts of food and items Cubans haven’t seen for years caused outrage among the suffering population. Now, the images of the fully-stocked store and the outrageous prices no common Cuban can afford is sparking even more outrage.
The new supermarket that the Cuban regime opened at 3rd and 70, which sells food and hygiene products that are in short supply in Cuba exclusively for foreign currency, continues to generate outrage and controversy on social media.
Located within the grounds of the Gran Muthu Habana Hotel—opened in 2023 and managed by MGM Muthu Hotels and the Gaviota group, which is overseen by the military leadership of the regime—the establishment accepts only cash in dollars or cards linked to foreign currency accounts.
The store is located across from the old “diplotienda” at 3rd and 70, which later began operating in freely convertible currency (MLC). However, unlike that one, the new supermarket is very well stocked with both national and foreign products.
Inside, there are food items, personal hygiene and cleaning products, household supplies, and appliances; however, the limited payment options deny most users the ability to access these products.
A video shared by the TikTok user identified as cuba.live2 showcased the interior of the store and its shelves filled with products, revealing the prices of some items, such as 250-gram packages of pasta (elbow macaroni and spaghetti priced at USD 1.35).
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Launched as part of a “partial dollarization” operation of the economy, the Cuban regime authorities are once again promoting the sale of essential goods in dollars, with prices that far exceed those set in developed capitalist countries. This occurs in a nation where most workers earn wages in Cuban pesos and the minimum wage is 2,100 CUP (with one dollar equating to 315 CUP in the informal market).
The prices at the new supermarket on 3rd and 70 are unattainable for most Cubans. A 500-gram panettone is sold for $15.20, a figure that far exceeds the average monthly salary in CUP.
The communist Castro dictatorship’s obvious plan here is not to alleviate the massive shortages Cubans are suffering, but to accumulate U.S. dollars to add to the billions it already has in offshore accounts. This is socialism in action.
Castro, Inc. does not understand your outrage. It’s providing needed goods, isn’t it? Yes, they can only be bought in dollars, but the “diaspora” has dollars, no? Ergo, the “diaspora” just needs to send dollars to Cuba.