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The Central Bank of Cuba announced the release of new denominations of banknotes, of 2,000 and 5,000 Cuban pesos, in an explicit acknowledgment of the collapse of the purchasing power of the peso after years of sustained inflation.
According to the official statement, starting this Wednesday, the first 5,000 pesos banknotes will begin to circulate in Havana, and they will be gradually introduced throughout the rest of the country.
The introduction of the 2,000 peso bill will also be carried out gradually, although the Bank did not specify a date and indicated that it will inform "in due time."
The institution justified the measure by stating the need to "facilitate cash transactions, respond to the real needs of the economy that demands large amounts of cash, help reduce cash logistics costs, and enhance operational efficiency during the current period of inflation the country is experiencing."
The new banknotes represent a historic change in Cuban numismatics: for the first time, they feature images of women patriots, with high-relief printing. The 2,000 CUP note depicts Mariana Grajales Cuello, the "Mother of the Homeland," while the 5,000 CUP note features Celia Sánchez Manduley.
In the first one, the predominant colors are violet and pink, while in the 5,000, it is blue. A watermark featuring the image of the patriot is included, along with electrotype displaying the denomination of the bill.
"The paper used in the production is a special security paper for banknotes, with characteristics that meet international standards, respecting its dimensions of 150 by 70 millimeters," specifies the note.
"Integrated into the vertical section on the right side of the banknote, there will be a security thread with a moving effect where, from the front, the initials BCC and the denomination number will be visible," he adds.
The name will be placed in letters in the lower central part.
The bills also feature an image of Cuba's national flower, the butterfly, which will create a rainbow effect when the angle of observation changes.
Other elements included on the reverse side of the bills are the monument to Mariana Grajales in the Santa Ifigenia cemetery on the 2,000 CUP note, and the Celia Sánchez Memorial in Lenin Park on the 5,000 CUP note.
Visually impaired individuals will be able to identify the bill by touching the upper right corner of the note.
This decision was met with criticism and ridicule on social media for being seen as a cosmetic measure that does not address the structural causes of the economic crisis.
The 1,000-peso bill, which until now was the highest denomination, is currently worth less than two dollars in the informal market, where the peso is trading at 510 CUP per dollar, a depreciation of 47.8% in just one year compared to 345 CUP per dollar in March 2025.
The euro reached a historic high of 575 CUP in the informal market this month, and the Central Bank had already adjusted its official rate to 455 pesos per dollar in February of this year, without managing to halt the decline.
The official inflation rate closed 2025 at 14.07% according to the National Office of Statistics and Information, but independent economists estimate that the real inflation in the basic basket is around 70% year-on-year. The Cuban GDP fell by 5% in 2025, the third consecutive year of contraction, with a cumulative decline of over 15% since 2020.
It is worth noting that in 2023 the government had explicitly denied that it would issue high-denomination bills.
The current situation also contrasts with the fact that many businesses in Cuba reject low denomination bills, which reflects the deep distortion of the monetary system on the island.
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