On Saturday, Sandro Castro made allegations against the independent outlet El Toque, claiming they amassed more than $100 million in just one day following the rise in the dollar's value on Cuba's informal market.
In a video shared on social media, Castro stated, "The dollar's price on El Toque is climbing again. I've done the average calculations, and by selling only $50 per person—not even considering the volumes traded by small enterprises—they earned $128 million just from this buyback operation."
According to Sandro, El Toque allegedly has a network of journalists and buyers who roam the streets with suitcases full of Cuban pesos to trade dollars, supposedly in coordination with manipulated prices on platforms like Revolico, a well-known marketplace in Cuba.
He presented two possible scenarios: "First, El Toque might be using a parallel rate between 400 and 500 pesos, possibly pausing at 450 CUP to influence the media. They're facing acts of repudiation, and we must continue resisting this, keep pushing back," he urged.
As a second theory, he suggested that many people who recently opposed El Toque, causing the dollar's value to drop, are now purchasing at 440 CUP out of anxiety.
"We can't let them induce panic with their red numbers (indicating price hikes) when we are the ones deciding to buy or not. We should aim for stabilization at 450 CUP, allowing us to then bring it back down to 400," he advised.
The Havana-based businessman also noted that the state banking system is offering an exchange rate of 370 Cuban pesos per dollar in Cuban hotels, cautioning, "We can't let the dollar exceed 450 CUP as it will harm us all."
Additionally, Castro called on the Cuban regime and government-aligned hackers to block El Toque's website in Cuba by all possible means, urging enhanced censorship of the independent media outlet.
He also shared a list of El Toque's journalists and collaborators, detailing their alleged roles, which has been criticized online as an incitement to harassment.
Meanwhile, El Toque has yet to publicly address Castro's accusations. The outlet has previously explained that their daily informal market rate is based on citizen data collection, not direct financial operations.
Understanding the Allegations Against El Toque
What did Sandro Castro accuse El Toque of?
Sandro Castro accused El Toque of making over $100 million in a day by manipulating the dollar's price on Cuba's informal market.
How did El Toque allegedly manipulate the market?
Castro claims El Toque used a network of journalists and buyers to trade dollars with manipulated prices on platforms like Revolico.
What actions did Castro propose against El Toque?
He urged the Cuban regime and hackers to block El Toque's website and shared a list of their journalists, which was seen as inciting harassment.