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The Ministry of Communications of Cuba published this Thursday in the Extraordinary Official Gazette No. 66 two resolutions that update the regulatory framework for the importation of telecommunications equipment, information and communication technologies, and unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones.
Both resolutions were signed by Minister Mayra Arevich Marín on January 8, 2026, and published this Thursday.
Resolution 1/2026 repeals Resolution 272 from October 13, 2015, which had been in effect for over a decade, and establishes a distinction between the equipment that can be imported without technical authorization and those that require it.
Among the equipment that does not require authorization from the Ministry of Communications for importation without a commercial purpose are conventional mobile phones, desktop computers, tablets, laptops, printers, hard drives, memory devices, wired alarms, and domestic terrestrial radio and television receivers.
In contrast, technical authorization issued by the Technical Budgeted Unit for Radiofrequency Spectrum Control is required for routers, switches, wireless access points, walkie-talkie type amateur radio equipment, radars, wireless microphone systems, satellite receivers, and wireless video surveillance systems.
The regulation explicitly prohibits the importation of signal amplifiers for mobile phones—known as repeaters—and of "equipment, parts, devices, and apparatus used to access computer or telecommunications networks without authorization, of any standard or technology."
Equipment with cryptographic protection systems is subject to "evaluation and approval by the Cryptography Directorate according to the current legislation of the Ministry of the Interior."
Resolution 2/2026 approves a new regulation for homologation and technical authorization for commercial imports, and it repeals resolutions 132/2019 and 110/2020.
One of the most notable aspects of this second resolution is the explicit inclusion of all drones in Annex I of products that require technical authorization, classified by maximum takeoff weight: up to 250 grams, from 250 grams to seven kilograms, from seven to 25 kilograms, and from 25 to 150 kilograms.
The special provision two states that "the employment, importation, exportation, manufacture, and marketing of unmanned aircraft, require technical authorization from the Ministry of Communications regarding the use of the frequencies and powers established in current legislation."
The cost of the homologation certificate is 1,200 Cuban pesos for resident individuals and national entities, or 50 dollars for non-resident individuals and foreign entities.
Importing entities must request technical authorization at least 30 days prior to the arrival date of the equipment in the national territory, and the Budgeted Unit for Radiofrequency Spectrum Control has 10 business days to issue it.
If a team arrives without the required authorization, Customs will hold it, and the importer has seven days to request it; if 30 days pass without presenting it, Customs will act in accordance with the law.
These regulations are based on the Decree-Law 35 on telecommunications and the use of the radio spectrum, approved in April 2021 and criticized by human rights organizations for including penalties of up to four years in prison for the dissemination of content deemed contrary to state security.
The Resolution 2/2026 comes into effect 60 days after its publication, that is, around July 20, 2026.
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