The United States government has held the regimes of Cuba and Venezuela accountable for the severe economic decline both countries are experiencing. A publication by ShareAmerica, the U.S. State Department's official platform, directly blames Havana and Caracas for maintaining authoritarian models designed to favor the ruling elites at the expense of their citizens' well-being.
"The crisis is not imported. It is manufactured," declares the document, dismissing the usual excuses of sanctions, blockades, or external pressures often cited by these regimes. According to Washington, the true roots lie in decades of corruption, economic mismanagement, and deliberate policies aimed at political control and enriching the governing elites.
Misdirected Investments in Cuba
The report highlights that in 2024, the Cuban regime allocated over 37% of its total investment to the tourism and hotel sectors. This investment far surpasses the combined spending on health and education by more than eleven times, despite a severe shortage of medicines, food, electricity, and fuel. The EFE agency, a cited source, notes that most hotels remain empty, with an average occupancy rate of around 30%, while the government continues to build new tourist complexes.
Entities such as GAESA, FINCIMEX, and CIMEX, which are military conglomerates, are identified as the primary beneficiaries of these resources. These structures dominate the island's tourism, remittances, and retail sectors, serving the interests of the regime's elite rather than the public. The document warns that these assets could be privatized to benefit the same officials who currently control them, mirroring the pattern seen in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Venezuelan Economic Missteps
Regarding Venezuela, the report reveals that in the early months of 2024, amidst the presidential electoral process, Nicolás Maduro's regime spent over $2 billion, marking its highest expenditure rate of the year. Despite collecting $1.7 billion in taxes during the same period, the minimum wage remained below $2 per month, less than the price of a kilogram of cheese.
That same year, the regime announced a national budget of $20.5 billion, ostensibly for economic growth. However, a mere $180 million (less than 1%) was allocated to the health sector, while nearly $1 billion was directed towards military intelligence, particularly for counterintelligence technology used to suppress the population and monitor the armed forces. Only $18 million was set aside to feed over five million schoolchildren, equivalent to $3.49 per student per year.
The report also touches on corruption and infrastructure decay. A $7.5 billion railway agreement with China signed in 2009 has yet to yield tangible progress, although Venezuela continues to repay the debt with oil at reduced prices. In 2024, a power outage left 16 Venezuelan states without electricity, followed by another blackout affecting 20 states for over 12 hours, as reported by local media outlet El Impulso.
Structural Failures and International Appeal
These issues are not accidental failures or administrative errors but are inherent structural features of systems designed to uphold the absolute power of the regimes, asserts the document. While millions of Cubans and Venezuelans face daily hardships, the governing elites prioritize projects for political control, propaganda, and personal enrichment.
The United States urged the international community to actively denounce the authoritarianism, corruption, and nepotism characteristic of both regimes and called for amplifying the voices of citizens demanding health, food, electricity, education, and economic freedom. "The Cuban and Venezuelan people are resourceful and resilient, but no amount of ingenuity can overcome systems that prioritize power and propaganda over collective well-being," the report concludes.
Key Questions on Cuba and Venezuela's Economic Challenges
What are the main causes of the economic crises in Cuba and Venezuela according to the U.S. report?
The U.S. report attributes the economic crises in Cuba and Venezuela to decades of corruption, economic mismanagement, and deliberate policies aimed at political control and enriching the ruling elites.
How has Cuba's investment strategy been criticized in the report?
The report criticizes Cuba for allocating over 37% of its investment to tourism and hotels in 2024, vastly outspending sectors like health and education despite severe shortages in essential services.
What spending priorities in Venezuela does the report highlight?
The report highlights that Venezuela spent over $2 billion during the 2024 presidential election period, with minimal allocation to health and a significant portion directed towards military intelligence.
Why does the report consider these economic failures to be structural?
The report considers these failures structural because they are seen as inherent features of systems designed to maintain the absolute power of the regimes, rather than accidental errors or mismanagement.