The Ministry of the Interior (MININT) announced the partial dismantling of an alleged illegal currency trafficking network between the United States and Cuba, allegedly directed by the Cuban exile Humberto Julio Mora Caballero from Miami.
The operation, described by the regime as a "new criminal modality", takes place within a context of structural crisis, liquidity shortage, and increasing loss of state control over the financial flows that circulate outside the official banking system.
A network centered in Miami with operations in Camagüey
According to statements from Lieutenant Colonel Yisnel Rivero Crespo, head of the Economic Crimes Department of MININT, Mora Caballero allegedly created a transnational structure that moved over 1 billion Cuban pesos and approximately 250,000 US dollars between February and September 2025, using mechanisms outside the formal financial system.
The alleged scheme involved raising foreign currency in the U.S., where the financier opened bank accounts in the names of front men to move the money and make payments to suppliers.
On the island, an operational base in Camagüey -funded with cash remittances from Havana and other provinces- served as a distribution point for national currency to the families of emigrated Cubans.
Money, instead of going through official channels, remained "in the street," according to MININT, fueling informal economies and the circuit of parallel imports.
The investigative body details that, within Cuba, at least four owners of small and medium-sized enterprises are being investigated, although they were not identified by the official source.
According to the information provided, those four owners of small and medium enterprises used the services of the alleged financier to import supplies without utilizing the state channels, “compensating” by making payments in pesos to their clients on the island.
The "financier": New figure in the remittance market
The concept of "financier" has been introduced by the Cuban government in this case as a way to refer to operators who capture dollars from outside the island and manage their distribution in national currency within the country.
This type of activity responds to an inescapable reality: the collapse of the Cuban banking system to channel remittances and the emergence of alternative routes, many of which are linked to the emerging private sector.
According to the official version, Mora Caballero charged a double commission: one on the amount of remittances sent by Cubans in exile and another from the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises who needed foreign currency to sustain their businesses, due to the inability to operate through state mechanisms.
The situation has led authorities to acknowledge that "the country receives less than 10% of what it previously received" in remittances through official channels.
The rest operates in parallel schemes that escape the control of institutions like FINCIMEX or state exchange houses.
Blow to small and medium-sized enterprises and a new phase of economic oversight
The case has also served as a platform for new threats from the government against the emerging private sector.
Although Lieutenant Colonel Rivero Crespo asserts that "it is not about attacking the micro, small, and medium enterprises, which are necessary for the country," his statements in Cubadebate indicate a tightening of financial oversight, increased tax controls, and "priority" enforcement operations against those structures with the highest volumes of economic activity.
The official blog Razones de Cuba, run by state security, has begun to lay the media groundwork for a potential legal or media offensive against other figures similar to Mora Caballero, even warning about scams on social media that replicate similar operating patterns.
Remittances, informal economy, and state control: A crossroads
The trafficking of foreign currency through unofficial channels is not a new phenomenon in Cuba, but it has taken on a new dimension amid the partial dollarization of the economy, rampant inflation, and the collapse of the Cuban peso.
Cuban authorities attribute these distortions to the United States' sanctions policy, which prevents the Cuban state from accessing the international financial system.
However, beyond the official narrative, the reality is that the use of alternative channels for sending remittances addresses a specific need for millions of Cuban families, who do not find viable or reliable options within the state system.
The case of Mora Caballero and the structure he allegedly led in Miami reveals the existence of mixed financial circuits that operate with a business logic, taking advantage of the institutional gaps in the Cuban system and the partial opening of the private sector.
The use of large volumes of cash, payments to international suppliers through informal channels, and the circulation of pesos outside the tax system also directly impact variables such as cash availability in banks, the informal exchange rate, and the sustained increase in the cost of living.
“The United States doesn't lose anything with this.”
The MININT narrative insists on highlighting Washington's responsibility in these operations, accusing the U.S. of "financial persecution" and of tolerating schemes that limit the influx of foreign currency to the Cuban state.
However, neither Rivero Crespo nor other officials have provided evidence of international cooperation or formal requests for extradition or collaboration.
“Cuban money circulates within Cuba while foreign currencies remain out there”, stated the lieutenant colonel in an interview with the state-run press.
A statement that, however, does not answer the key question: why do Cubans inside and outside the island prefer illegal mechanisms to send and receive money?
An open investigation and a model in check
The case file 121/2025 is still in the preparatory phase, and more than a dozen individuals—including the four owners of micro, small, and medium enterprises—are under precautionary measures.
According to the MININT, "this is not the first time" they have encountered structures led by Mora Caballero, who has reportedly been investigated before.
Beyond the specific case, the regime acknowledges that there are other similar networks in operation, suggesting that the dismantled scheme is merely a fraction of a widespread and expanding phenomenon.
Meanwhile, millions of Cubans will continue to seek ways to survive and send help to their families in a country where the state financial system has become increasingly inoperative, and where the line between what is legal and what is necessary becomes more blurred each day.
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