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In Cuba, "good news" arrives in containers. Three, to be precise. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX) solemnly announced the arrival of a "valuable donation" of instant noodle soups, sent from Vietnam to assist those affected by Hurricane Melissa.
The post, signed from the official account of the ministry, expressed gratitude for the "deeply supportive" gesture of Thai Binh Investment & Trading and emphasized its "social commitment" to the Cuban people.
Leading the ministry's work is Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, the great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro, a technocrat who has been at the helm of a portfolio where the word investment is spoken more often than it is realized.
On its social media, MINCEX celebrated the Vietnamese donation of three containers of instant soup, , summarizing, unintentionally, the true state of the Cuban economy: a country that relies on foreign charity for its food and on propaganda to survive politically.
While the ministry led by the "heir" of the Castros turns the arrival of some noodles into state news, foreign investment remains in a coma.
The ambitious projects that the regime announced as "gateways to development" —from the Mariel Special Zone to the so-called investment hubs— barely survive amid a lack of liquidity, distrust, and the internal sanctions of the system itself.
Promoted to Deputy Prime Minister of the government in mid-October, and recently inaugurated as a deputy of the National Assembly of People's Power, Pérez-Oliva inherited the leadership of MINCEX following the tenure of Ricardo Cabrisas, promising to “modernize the conditions for foreign investment” and “restructure the external debt” with allies like China and Russia.
But so far, the results are more diplomatic than economic: meetings, protocols, and statements of intent. There is no record of any concrete debt restructuring agreement signed or ratified under his mandate. Neither Moscow nor Beijing have announced new loans, and the Cuban economy remains without oxygen.
Indeed, symbolic gestures abound. In the absence of million-dollar investments, instant soups arrive. And where megaprojects were once promised, today we applaud emergency noodles. The joke writes itself: a country that decades ago exported sugar and lobsters now celebrates the import of packaged soups.
The official discourse insists that international cooperation "is being strengthened" and that "economic relations with Vietnam are an example of solidarity among brotherly countries."
But behind the formal language lies an uncomfortable truth: Cuba has nothing to offer in return, beyond expressions of gratitude. The island continues to accumulate debts and promises, while its ministers—whether related to the Castros or not—pose smiling next to humanitarian shipments.
During his tenure, Pérez-Oliva has participated in forums and meetings with Chinese, Vietnamese, and Barbadian businessmen. He has reiterated the mantra of "attracting foreign investment," advocated for "new measures of flexibilization," and discussed "opportunities in strategic sectors."
However, official investment figures remain at historic lows, and foreign investors continue to flee from bureaucracy, the lack of guarantees, and the dual currency system.
Meanwhile, the regime needs symbolic victories. This is where the Vietnamese gesture comes in, elevated to the status of a "great example of cooperation." The photo published by MINCEX holds more political value than nutritional: it shows the world that "Cuba is not alone," even if what it receives are instant noodles, a tactic perfected by the great-uncle of the current holder.
Pérez-Oliva Fraga, heir to the surname and the rhetoric, seems to have learned the family lesson well: when there are no results, one fabricates the appearance of success. Today he celebrates three containers of soup; tomorrow perhaps another shipment of rice or diapers. The narrative of the “gesture of solidarity” serves to cover the structural incapacity of a government that neither produces nor invests, but specializes in expressing gratitude.
In summary, a year and a half into his administration, the great-nephew of the Castros has managed to uphold the Cuban economic tradition: surviving on donations and turning scarcity into rhetoric. Three containers of soup will not save those affected, but at least they make for a good photo and a piece of propaganda. And in today's Cuba, that seems to be more than enough.
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