London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

With Western Union Offices Closed, Cubans Find Informal Ways To Get Cash To Relatives On the Island

With Western Union Offices Closed, Cubans Find Informal Ways To Get Cash To Relatives On the Island

For years Cuban Americans were able to send money to relatives on the island via Western Union. Those cash transfers had to be coordinated in Cuba by a government agency called Fincimex.
On Monday, the Western Union offices in Cuba were closed.

It was all part of a Trump administration crackdown on Cuban businesses controlled by the Cuban military. So, how are Cuban Americans going to get money to their loved ones on the island?

A total of $3.5 billion in remittances reach the island annually, many Cubans rely on that cash to pay for food and services, as well as, to finance local private business.

Jorge Duany, Director of the Cuban Research Institute at FIU, says, “Given the fact that tourism has practically collapsed, this as a result of the pandemic, the remittances have become the most important.”

Four-hundred Western Union offices are shuttered because of a Trump administration sanction prohibiting a Cuban government agency from handling financial transactions.

The policies aimed at chocking off any American dollars from support of Cuban businesses, such as restaurants and hotels that are controlled or owned by the Cuban military.

“It is going to be very tough for the Cuban people to survive,” said Duany.

With $3.5 billion on the line, there is another way to get cash to Cuba. ‘Mulas’ or mules are people carrying cash to the island through flights to Cuba.
That has been a long-time tradition.

‘It is estimated that about half of all money that goes to Cuba goes through these informal channels. It is likely this form of transfer will increase in the immediate future,” added Duany.

And there are smaller companies that offer the service so far not impacted by restrictions. There is also bitcoin, bt would it work with tech-savvy people on the island?

“I don’t know how many people know about it. How many have the technological resources to give and receive bitcoin? It could be one of the new ways to spend money now that Western Union is going to leave the market.”

But is there change on the horizon? In January, a new administration in the White House will be in charge.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have already expressed interest in relaxing restrictions on remittances and travel by Cuban Americans.

Cuba experts have CBS4 that unraveling the Trump-Cuba policies, especially those that deal with tourism dollars flowing to the Cuban military might be difficult.
Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
Biden and Kamel-toes are not NOTHING ELECT. Trump never conceded and the states have not voted yet. So these 2 are ALSO RAN at this time. The media needs to stop lying to the left sheeple

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×