HAVANA (AP) 鈥� Cuban President on Friday announced a package of economic reforms aimed at attracting investment, expanding participation by Cubans living abroad in the economy and decentralizing parts of the country鈥檚 administration.
The president did not provide details about the measures or a timetable for their implementation but said during remarks to state media that it is now 鈥渢ime to change鈥� and that the country 鈥渟imply cannot continue on its current course.鈥�
鈥淓very opportunity in the midst of a crisis must be seized as a moment for takeoff, as a moment for growth,鈥� D铆az-Canel said, according to a statement from the presidency that was republished by state-run media. 鈥淲e have established a group of priorities to confront this situation,鈥� he added without offering specifics.
The announcement comes as Cubans have struggled with fuel shortages as a result of the and food insecurity. In January, the United States in an effort to pressure the island鈥檚 government to change its political and economic model, exacerbating challenges that have persisted for about five years.
The U.S. State Department had no comment on the D铆az-Canel remarks and referred to the statement released Thursday
D铆az-Canel said officials are evaluating measures related to foreign trade, exports, supply chains and logistics. Without elaborating, he suggested the government could eliminate mandatory state intermediaries in import and export operations and grant tariff benefits to those who bring raw materials into the country for production.
鈥淭he numbers don鈥檛 add up, and the government wants to make this look like a matter of will rather than a math problem,鈥� Cuban economist Pedro Monreal wrote on X, in response to D铆az-Canel鈥檚 proposals.
The Spain-based former UNESCO official went on to criticize the collapse of a centralized planning model, for which he said 鈥渢here are two respectable alternatives: assume the political price of failure, or self-critically rectify and drastically transform the model.鈥�
For decades, Cuba maintained a centralized, vertical system under strict state control. This structure over the last decade when the government introduced permits for independent workers. More recently, the state authorized the operation of the country鈥檚 first .
Earlier Friday, a ship carrying nearly 100 tons of food and essential goods arrived from as part of the humanitarian aid that several countries have sent to in recent months as a U.S. energy embargo persists.
The ship, which departed Cartagena in early June, crossed the Havana Bay channel early in the morning flying the Colombian flag and escorted by a small Cuban auxiliary vessel, The Associated Press confirmed.
The Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation said that, on orders of , the shipment included nonperishable food, medicine, hospital supplies, electrical materials, solar panels and other items.
The ship also carried seven tons of goods collected by solidarity groups.
Last weekend, another ship carrying 1,700 tons of essential goods from Mexico and Belize .
In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The move has deepened a preexisting crisis caused by U.S. sanctions. Washington is pressing the Cuban government to release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions.
Cuba produces only 40% of its oil, leaving the island semiparalyzed and subjected to .
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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.
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