https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated December 28, 2022
Cuba: U.S. Policy Overview
Cuban Political and Economic Developments
Cuba remains a one-party authoritarian state with a
government that has sharply restricted freedoms of
expression, association, assembly, and other basic human
rights since the early years of the 1959 Cuban revolution.
Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeded Raúl Castro as president in
2018 and as head of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) at
its eighth party congress in April 2021. The departure of
Castro and other older leaders from the PCC’s Politburo
reflects the generational change in Cuban leadership that
began several years ago. While in power (2006-2018), Raúl
Castro (who succeeded his brother, longtime leader Fidel
Castro) began to move Cuba toward a mixed economy with
a stronger private sector, but his government’s slow,
gradualist approach did not produce major improvements.
Cuba adopted a new constitution in 2019 that introduced
some reforms but maintained the state’s dominance over the
economy and the PCC’s predominant political role.
The Cuban economy has been hard-hit by the economic
shutdown associated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic; Venezuela’s economic crisis,
which has reduced support from that country; and U.S.
sanctions. Cuba reports the economy contracted by 10.9%
in 2020 and grew by 1.3% in 2021; in November 2022, the
government cut its 2022 growth forecast from 4% to 2%.
Cuba’s growth forecast has been affected by a slower
recovery of the tourism sector, the impact of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine on the global economy (including food
and fuel prices), an August 2022 fire that severely damaged
Cuba’s main oil storage facility, and Hurricane Ian, which
caused severe damage to western Cuba in late September
2022 and a power outage across the country.
Cuba unified its dual currency system in 2021; the long-
debated reform contributed to high inflation (with some
estimates ranging from between 150% and 500% in 2021);
the Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that inflation
averaged 60% in 2022 and forecasts an average rate of
almost 37% in 2023.
Cuba’s public health response to the pandemic initially kept
cases and deaths low, but both surged in the summer of
2021. The country experienced another surge in cases in
early 2022, but deaths remained low because of high
vaccination rates. As of December 2022, Cuba reported
over 8,500 deaths since the pandemic began (with one of
the lowest mortality rates in the hemisphere) and had fully
vaccinated 88% of its population with its own vaccines.
Increased Repression. Beginning in November 2020, the
government cracked down on the San Isidro Movement
(MSI), a civil society group opposed to restrictions on
artistic expression. On July 11, 2021, anti-government
demonstrations broke out in Havana and throughout the
country, with thousands of Cubans protesting economic
conditions (food and medicine shortages, blackouts) and
long-standing concerns about the lack of political freedoms.
The government responded with harsh measures, including
widespread detentions of protesters, civil society activists,
and bystanders. Hundreds of the July 2021 protestors have
been tried and convicted, including more than 25 minors.
The human rights group Cuban Prisoners Defenders (CPD)
reported that there were 1,034 political prisoners at the end
of November 2022 (up from 152 on July 1, 2021), of which
751 were imprisoned and considered prisoners of
conscience by CPD, 253 were under some form of
conditional release, and 30 were imprisoned for other
politically motivated acts.
U.S. Policy
Since the early 1960s, when the United States imposed a
trade embargo on Cuba, the centerpiece of U.S. policy
toward Cuba has consisted of economic sanctions aimed at
isolating the Cuban government. The Obama
Administration initiated a policy shift away from sanctions
and toward engagement and the normalization of relations.
Changes included the rescission of Cuba’s designation as a
state sponsor of international terrorism (May 2015); the
restoration of diplomatic relations (July 2015); and eased
restrictions on travel, remittances, trade,
telecommunications, and banking and financial services
(2015-2016). In contrast, the Trump Administration
introduced new sanctions in 2017, including restrictions on
transactions with companies controlled by the Cuban
military. By 2019, the Trump Administration had largely
abandoned engagement and significantly increased
sanctions, particularly on travel and remittances.
In its initial months, the Biden Administration announced it
was conducting a review of policy toward Cuba, with
human rights a core pillar, and would review policy
decisions made by the prior Administration. In the
aftermath of the Cuban government’s harsh response to the
July 11, 2021 protests, the Biden Administration criticized
Cuba’s repression and imposed targeted sanctions on those
involved. In July and August 2021, the Treasury
Department imposed four rounds of financial sanctions on
three Cuban security entities and eight officials. Between
November 2021 and July 2022, the State Department
announced four rounds of visa restrictions against 50
individuals involved in repressing protesters.
In May 2022, the Administration announced several Cuba
policy changes aimed at increasing support for the Cuban
people. The Administration increased immigrant visa
processing at the U.S. Embassy in Havana and said it would
reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP)
program. It eased travel restrictions by reauthorizing
scheduled and charter flights to cities beyond Havana and
reinstating group people-to-people travel. It eased
restrictions on sending cash remittances by eliminating the
