The euro reached 600 Cuban pesos (CUP) in the island's informal market, according to monitoring by the independent media elTOQUE recorded at dawn this unfortunate Sunday, marking an unprecedented milestone in the history of Cuba's currency crisis.
In the previous session, the European currency had closed at 598 CUP, already nearing that psychological threshold that many deemed inevitable given the rapid increase in recent days.
Informal exchange rate in Cuba Sunday, April 19, 2026 - 05:30
Exchange rate of the dollar (USD) to Cuban pesos CUP: 525 CUP
Euro exchange rate (EUR) to Cuban pesos CUP: 600 CUP
Exchange rate of (MLC) to Cuban pesos CUP: 390 CUP
The 600 peso barrier is not just a number: it is the thermometer of an economy on the brink of total collapse after 67 years of communist dictatorship.
The dollar remains at its historical high of 525 CUP, a level sustained since April 12, while the Convertible Currency (MLC) is trading at 390 CUP.
Exchange Rate Evolution
The rise of the euro has been rapid: it was valued at 418 CUP in June 2025, reached 485 CUP in September, 515 CUP in October, 565 CUP in February 2026, 580 CUP in March, and 588 CUP on April 6, which was then a historic high.
In just two additional weeks, the European currency gained another 12 pesos, breaking the 600 barrier.
The gap with the official rate of the Central Bank of Cuba now exceeds 23 pesos, highlighting the complete disconnection between the formal economy and the real one.
For the dollar, the difference is even greater: the BCC sets it at 488 CUP, which creates a gap of 37 pesos compared to the informal market.
Several structural factors explain the collapse of the Cuban peso.
The introduction of new 2,000 and 5,000 CUP bills on April 1st created inflationary pressure and currency uncertainty in an already devastated economy.
This is compounded by the interruption of Venezuelan oil supply following the fall of the regime of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, which worsened an energy crisis with power cuts lasting up to 20 and 30 hours daily.
The Economist Intelligence Unit projects that the Cuban economy will contract by 7.2% in 2026, accumulating a decline of 23% since 2019, with a fiscal deficit exceeding 74.5 billion CUP.
Internationally, the strengthening of the euro against the dollar —trading around 1.17 and 1.18 dollars during April 2026— also contributes to its higher relative value in Cuba.
80% of Cubans believe this crisis is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s, and more than 600,000 people have emigrated since 2022 in search of a way out of the collapse.
The Cuban Observatory of Coins and Finance (OMFi) projected that by the end of April, one euro would be worth 604 CUP, within a range of 574 to 640 CUP, a projection that has been realized ten days ahead of schedule.
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