By Frances Robles, Ed Augustin and Hannah Berkeley Cohen
Not too long ago, Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution was teeming with American holidaymakers bumping into one another with selfie sticks, capturing images of the legendary revolutionary Che Guevara and attempting to hitch rides in a vibrant red 1952 Chevrolet Bel-Air.
Currently, those gleaming American convertibles from the 1950s that epitomized the image of Cuba are parked unused, as the tourists they used to transport have mostly vanished.
The chauffeurs live much like other Cubans: enduring extended power outages, queuing at poorly stocked grocery stores, and witnessing their friends, family, and neighbors — fed up with the hardships — pack their bags and leave.
A decade ago, President Barack Obama amazed the globe by reestablishing diplomatic ties with Cuba, bringing an end to more than half a century of Cold War isolation between the United States and a nation that had once teetered on the edge of nuclear conflict.
For a span of 2 1/2 years, Cuba overflowed with optimism amid an unprecedented surge of investments and tourism, spurred on by agreements made with major American corporations like Google, AT&T, and Major League Baseball.
However, a financial collapse driven by a variety of elements — the tightening of U.S. policy under the Trump administration, poor management of Cuba’s economy, and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — has deterred visitors and propelled a mass emigration crisis.
Tourism, once the backbone of Cuba’s economy, has plummeted, nearly falling by half since 2017, with new U.S. visa rules complicating travel for even Europeans.
“The contrast between then and now is truly vast,” remarked Luis Manuel Pérez, a chauffeur.
A former engineering educator, Pérez, 57, used to enjoy a steady stream of clients ready to pay $40 an hour to ride in a vintage car. Now, securing even one customer a day is a stroke of luck.
“The gap is immense,” he stated.
Numerous private businesses that were permitted to operate by the Cuban government in recent years are struggling to maintain viability, having lost many workers to emigration. The streets are littered with refuse as fuel shortages disrupt waste collection.
Many Cubans express it plainly: a decade ago, hope was abundant. Now, despair prevails.
“When you walk down the street, you can see people’s smiles fading,” expressed Adriana Heredia Sánchez, who operates a clothing store in Old Havana.
Cuba’s decline highlights the significant role of the United States in the island’s affairs, coinciding with Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House: He has put forward Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Cuba hard-liner, for the role of secretary of state.
By several indicators, Cuba is facing its worst crisis since Fidel Castro took power 66 years ago, even worse than the early 1990s when the dissolution of the Soviet Union left Cuba without its primary support.
Cuba has endured three nationwide blackouts since October. Official statistics indicate a population decrease of at least 1 million, or 10%, since the onset of the pandemic. Over 675,000 of those Cubans have relocated to the United States.
Even the infant mortality rate, which communist leaders had proudly reduced to below U.S. levels, has been on the rise.
Cuba was once highlighted as one of the few Latin American nations to have eradicated child malnutrition. However, today, the delivery of milk rations for children, along with staples like rice and beans, is often delayed, if not completely absent, at state-run establishments.
The atmosphere of misery starkly contrasts with the excitement experienced in 2016 when Obama watched a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game in Havana alongside Cuban President Raúl Castro.
“If Obama had run for president in Cuba, he would have won,” joked Jaime Morales, a tour guide in Havana.
Obama also softened U.S. policies towards the island, permitting American cruise liners to dock in Cuba, increasing the number of U.S. airlines flying there, and allowing more Americans to visit.
Then came Trump’s shift. In 2018, following reports of mysterious illnesses among U.S. Embassy personnel that some suspected were caused by hostile actions, he expelled so many staff that the embassy was virtually shut down. (The Biden administration restored it in 2023.)
In his final days as president, Trump also reinstated Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, a label that severely restricted its global business engagements and that President Joe Biden has maintained.
Morales, 44, remembers a cruise ship being in port when the cruise policy was revoked: He stood at a pier waiting for tourists who had booked his walking tours of Havana, but no one disembarked.
“It felt like a bucket of ice water poured over me,” he said. “The dream was over.”
Two senior officials from the Biden administration defended its stance on Cuba, pointing out that Biden did relax some restrictions. The administration lifted caps on the money Cubans could send back home, increased flight options, and expanded banking opportunities for Cuban entrepreneurs.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as the administration did not give permission for on-the-record discussions.
However, according to one official, Cuba consistently fails to seize opportunities.
Cuba’s severe crackdown on a popular protest in 2021 resulted in the imprisonment of hundreds, complicating Biden’s ability to justify relaxing restrictions, the official added.
Several Cuban American congress members who supported the restrictions also wielded considerable influence, and critics suggested the White House was wary of the political landscape ahead of the November election.
Rubio and other Republicans involved in shaping Trump’s Cuba policy did not respond to requests for comment.
The Cuban government recently stated that Obama’s short-lived thaw in relations was beneficial for the country but was succeeded by eight years of hostility. Officials conducted a significant protest outside the U.S. Embassy on Friday.
José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez, Cuba’s inaugural ambassador to Washington after the embassies reopened in July 2015, asserted that the United States is responsible for Cuba’s woes.
Many Cubans are tired of their government’s blame-shifting towards Washington, remarked Arianna R. Delgado, a makeup artist who immigrated from Cuba to Miami this year.
“Let’s be honest: Cuba was always in poor condition, but now the issue isn’t that there’s less; it’s that there’s nothing,” she expressed tearfully. “It’s now a concentration camp, and the entire world needs to be aware of it.”
