In a significant blow against a criminal organization with a direct impact on the Cuban economy, Cuban anti-narcotics authorities and the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) recently dismantled a multi-million dollar currency trafficking network operating with ties to the United States. This criminal network, identified as highly organized and well-resourced, was dedicated to obtaining foreign currency in the United States and illegally transferring it to undermine the Cuban financial system.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Yisnel Rivero Crespo, head of the Economic Crimes Department of the MININT’s investigative unit, the network had more than 30 bank accounts in the U.S. managed by front men, from which payments were made to suppliers and illicit funds were transferred. Simultaneously, in Cuba, an operational base established in Camagüey collected large sums of Cuban pesos weekly from non-state activities. These funds were not deposited into the formal banking system but circulated as cash to support illegal operations.

Between February and September 2025, the network, led by an individual identified as Mora Caballero, moved more than one billion Cuban pesos and approximately 250,000 US dollars. The expert emphasized that reports to US authorities regarding these illicit operations have gone unanswered, demonstrating tacit support for this form of economic warfare aimed at strangling the Cuban economy by preventing the normal flow of foreign currency to the Cuban state.

This operation has generated significant distortions, raising the illegal exchange rate and encouraging the theft of remittances, practices that contribute to inflation and the overall deterioration of economic stability on the island. The network took advantage of regulatory loopholes and the tightening of the U.S. embargo, which has closed traditional transfer channels such as Western Union.

The Cuban government announced it will strengthen financial and tax controls, as well as police operations, to eradicate these illicit networks, emphasizing the need to protect micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that legitimately contribute to the country’s economic development. The fight against these networks is part of the defense against an economic war waged from abroad with the aim of severely limiting the inflow of foreign currency into the Cuban banking system and weakening the national economy.

This dismantling represents a major blow to the illicit network that affects not only Cuban state finances but also the well-being of families receiving remittances, whose funds are withheld and diverted beyond legitimate state control. The operation reaffirms Cuba’s commitment to rigorously confronting the financial threats stemming from the United States’ blockade and economic aggression.