A report circulated on X claims that dollar stores managed by Cuban military would be selling products from Mexico, Brazil, and Chile amid announcements of humanitarian aid sent by those same countries to Cuba, which has reignited concerns about the final destination of those donations.
The accusation was made by the user Joankelin Sánchez, who cited Brazilian rice, Mexican beans, presumably repackaged powdered milk, and Chilean chicken sold in state-run establishments in the province of Las Tunas.
According to reports, Brazilian rice from the Guacira brand and Mexican beans from La Merced appeared in those stores shortly after Brazil announced the shipment of 20,000 tons of rice to Cuba "as humanitarian aid" and after Mexico dispatched food shipments to the island.
The statement is based on that temporal coincidence and the origin of the products displayed in the stores with foreign currency.
The complainant also stated that in those same stores, powdered milk was sold "unsealed," in bags tied closed and marked with a price of 8.50 dollars, equivalent —according to his calculations— to 4,060 Cuban pesos.
Following that product presentation, he raised the suspicion that it might be milk sourced from the aid sent by Mexico or repackaged goods intended for subsequent sale.
The complaint also extends to products from Chile. The user claims that, following the announcement of Chilean humanitarian aid for Cuba, frozen chickens from the brand La Favorita, which is identified as a producer and distributor of meat and chicken in Chile, began to be sold in military stores.
Based on that, it raises the question again of whether the Cuban military would be selling humanitarian aid intended for the Cuban people or if, in fact, these products arrived through trade agreements.
The core of the accusation lies in this contrast: on one hand, several governments announce donations or humanitarian aid to alleviate the Cuban crisis; on the other, products from those same countries appear in dollar stores at prices beyond the reach of a large part of the population.
In the case of Brazilian rice, the whistleblower claims that the kilogram cost 2.80 dollars, a figure that he presents as close to "almost half of the salary" of an average Cuban.
It also places the monthly salary in a range of 3,000 to 4,000 pesos, reinforcing the idea that these foods are inaccessible to the majority.
Based on that observation, the author of the complaint proposes two possible interpretations.
The first is that military stores are reselling products that would have entered the country as humanitarian aid.
The second is that there are active trade agreements through which the Cuban government purchases these foods using public funds while the population faces shortages.
In both cases, their argument points to a contradiction in the official narrative regarding the crisis and the limitations of foreign trade due to the American embargo.
Sánchez questions why products from Mexico, Brazil, or Chile end up in dollar stores if they are humanitarian donations. And if they are not donations, but commercially acquired goods, he challenges the narrative that Cuba cannot import normally due to the "blockade."
In this context, the complainant contrasts the existence of those food items in stores controlled by the military with the official explanation of widespread scarcity.
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