Why the Dollar and the Euro Rise & Fall vs the Cuban Peso

Since 2022, the exchange rate in Cuba’s informal market has shown high volatility. Within a matter of weeks, the price of the dollar or euro can soar, stabilize at a new high, and then fall sharply. However, it rarely returns to its starting point.

Promises Without Materials Won’t Rebuild After Melissa

Dust turned to mud. More poverty upon barren land. The little food grown in the fields washed away and thousands of homes destroyed or damaged. That is the picture across several towns in eastern Cuba after Hurricane Melissa struck on October 29, 2025.

What Are Deepfakes and How Can We Identify Them?

According to a 2023 World Economic Forum report, deepfake videos on the internet are increasing at an annual rate of 900 %.

Cognitive Dissonance and El Toque’s Currency Exchange Rates

El Toque has been publishing a Representative Currency Exchange Rate for some time now. It fills a need as the Cuban government maintains an “official” exchange rate that defies reality. This article comes after the latest attack on El Toque for informing the citizenry amid the systematic void left by the Cuban Communist Party and its government.

Cuba Gov. Tells Maduro He Can’t Count on Its Support

Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro recently received bad news when he asked for help from his Cuban partners. Sources close to the Venezuelan government said that, in mid-October 2025, the dictator met in Caracas with Cuban advisers to discuss possible military or logistical support from Havana amid the growing presence of US forces near Venezuelan shores.

The Cuban Regime’s New Strategy to Attract Foreign Currency

Facing a liquidity crisis and a growing loss of financial credibility, the Cuban government has launched a new strategy to attract fresh foreign currency: granting greater autonomy to foreign companies in the tourism sector.

Why Does the Dollar Keep Rising in Cuba?

Keys to understanding the new wave of foreign currency demand.

Young Cubans Willing to Fight and “Bleed” for Money

“Do you have the guts to bleed?” That’s the slogan used to promote a clandestine fighting league in Cuba that offers up to 20 euros per match. Amid the country’s deepening economic and social crisis, dozens of young people between 19 and 31 years old agree to fight without an audience, hoping to earn in one night what many don’t make in a month of state employment.

Jose Daniel Ferrer Didn’t Leave Cuba — He Was Expelled

What kind of state governed by the rule of law releases an alleged criminal just because its political adversary asks it to? There is no interpretation of Ferrer’s banishment that favors the Cuban regime.

Gasoline in Dollars: The Gap Widens Between Cubans

As the country dollarizes its economy, citizens improvise, adapt, and survive, aware that each liter purchased or each empty tank left behind is a reminder of the distance between official rhetoric and real life.

Complaining in Cuba Is Not the Same as Protesting

Official discourse in Cuba has once again equated citizen protest with the right to complain, deeming any public demonstration outside the framework of “institutionality” as illegitimate.

Cuba: Stores & Gas Stations in US Dollars Continue to Grow

In early May 2025, El Toque published a list of the dollar stores we were able to find in Cuba. At that time, we counted 85 establishments that sold their products exclusively in foreign currency. Now, five months later, we count 209 — an increase of 146%.

Is it True There Are No Political Prisoners in Cuba?

From Raul Castro to Fernandez de Cossío: the same FALSE discourse persists to deny political prisoners and accuse Amnesty International.

Cuba X-ray: Power Doesn’t Pay Debts but Demands Obedience

In the midst of blackouts lasting up to 25 hours and more than 3 million Cubans facing limited access to drinking water, Miguel Díaz-Canel once again promised “victories.” Yet while his talk centers on creative resistance, families turn to homemade inventions to collect rainwater and survive in increasingly precarious conditions.

Cuba’s Linemen Work Without Gloves, Boots, or Safety Gear

In Cuba, there is hardly any electricity. That is a fact. But the workers in this field also lack the means to perform their duties. A lineman told El Toque: “The conditions in which I work are awful and dangerous, lacking all safety and protective equipment.”