Cubans responded with sarcasm to the municipal inspectors from Plaza de la Revolución who toured private businesses in the Havana municipality on Thursday, resulting in 61 fines, seven work projects withdrawn, and 25 forced merchandise sales.
The operation covered 50 forms of non-state management and included three establishments with documented violations: the Agro Mercado EJT at 17 and K, the Mercado Hurón Azul, and the Punto de Venta Delfín, according to the report released by the Municipal Administration Council and reproduced by .
The citizens' reaction to the operation was quick to express itself with irony: "Go to the TRD and CIMEX," many Cubans repeat on social media, pointing out that the state stores —TRD Caribe and CIMEX— also sell products at high prices or in currencies that are inaccessible for most of the population.
The contradiction highlighted by the citizens has a concrete background: the government itself eliminated the maximum retail prices for chicken, oil, powdered milk, sausages, and pasta through Resolution 150/2026, which caused the prices of these products in the non-state market to soar.
Now it penalizes private merchants for the same prices that its own policy facilitated.
At the EJT Agricultural Market, inspectors detected prices deemed speculative for chicken and milk, the absence of national electronic payment gateways —required by Resolution 93/2023 of the Ministry of Domestic Trade— and the use of personal bank accounts for business operations instead of tax accounts.
The fines totaled 10,000 pesos for price violations, 36,000 for not having payment gateways, and 72,000 for the use of personal accounts.
At the Hurón Azul Market, located at Humboldt and P, the situation was similar: "inspectors identified workers engaged in the activity without a labor contract and the sale of sausages at a price deemed in violation of current regulations," according to the official statement. The sanctions amounted to 10,000 and 16,000 pesos under the provisions of Decree 30 and Decree Law 91/2024.
The Delfín Point of Sale, located at the intersection of 21st Street between 8th and 10th Streets, also recorded non-fiscal accounts and an employee without formal labor ties. As an additional measure, a forced sale of food products was carried out.
This operation is not an isolated event. On Wednesday, during an initial walkthrough of the Plaza de la Revolución, the authorities had already carried out 20 control actions, issued 17 fines, and ordered three forced sales, with a clear warning of temporary closures of up to three months for repeat offenders.
The pressure on the private sector has intensified steadily. Between December 2024 and 2026, more than 508,000 inspections have been accumulated in a single week nationwide, resulting in hundreds of thousands of fines and mass business closures. Just for non-compliance with banking regulations, in 2026, 15,240 fines and 269 closures were recorded across the country.
While the regime escalates operations against private entrepreneurs, Cubans continue to face an acute economic crisis marked by widespread shortages, and the state-run stores that the government points to as alternatives are operating at prices that the majority cannot afford either.
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