The US dollar’s value has surged sharply in Cuba lately. Foreign exchange market analysts attribute this trend to Cubans leaving their country to migrate to the United States.
We are interested to read and share this foreign exchange-related report about the US dollar’s status in Cuba with our followers. By sharing this news with them, we think our readers, especially those who are residents of that Caribbean nation, will get the latest information they need regarding this foreign currency.
According to the foreign exchange update posted online by Cuban digital publication Havana Times, the US dollar’s value shot up from an exchange rate of 72 Cuban pesos on January 1, 2022, to 100 Cuban pesos at the time of writing.
This information is per the foreign exchange rates tracked by El Toque daily and computed by taking the figures’ average found on selling and buying foreign currency advertisements.
A drastic increase in the US dollar’s value in recent weeks has translated to the fact that this foreign currency has surpassed the Cuban magnetic card currency and that it now stands nearer the euro.
Foreign exchange market analysts believe this event involving the United States’ official currency is due to the possible exodus of Cubans.
Statistics from the Customs and Border Protection Department reveal that 20,476 Cubans entered the United States via illegal routes or Mexico, with a record number in December 2021.
The information added that in recent months, figures on Cuban migrants had started to challenge those in the 2021 fiscal year ending on September 30, when 39,303 Cubans made their way to the United States via land.
38,674 of these people from Cuba crossed the Mexican border. Foreign exchange market analysts believe this movement of people is to which to attribute the recent spike in the US dollar’s value in the past few weeks.
A 40-year-old woman from Cienfuegos, Cuba, who wanted to stay anonymous, is leaving her country for good. She shared that she paid US$2,500 for a plane ticket to Nicaragua en route to the United States.
The traveler affirmed the scenario she underwent was “madness.” She explained that she was fortunate to purchase US dollars for 95 Cuban pesos each as some benevolent people in a hurry sold them a little less expensive.
Another United States-bound Cuban citizen named Tais agreed that the US dollar’s value has gone up fast lately. She is getting ready for her trip to Nicaragua en route to the United States and has purchased nearly US$3,000 in 100 and 50-dollar bills.
Tais said that she had had to buy these US dollar bills for 80 to 100 Cuban pesos. She affirmed that in just a few days, the US dollar’s value surged in the Telegram groups where people sell them.
Cuban migrants’ whole journey going to the United States can reportedly reach more than US$10,000. The costs included are the pricey airline tickets from Havana to Nicaraguan capital Managua, which can be over US$1,200 for a required round-trip ticket, depending on the stop-overs and duration time.
Additionally, there are the food, transportation, and living expenses in each country crossed, and the payment for traffickers amounting to several thousand US dollars. We think this report on the US dollar’s value increasing quickly recently in Cuba is unusual.
We believe foreign exchange operators in Cuba are taking advantage of the people interested in migrating to the United States. Therefore, they put a high price on the US dollars they are selling in the foreign exchange market.
We think the Cuban Government should closely monitor this development in the forex scene as it could adversely affect the country’s economy and the people.