Cuba Customs Reports Increase in Illegal Currency Trafficking at Airports

The General Customs of the Republic (AGR) has reported a rise in illegal currency trafficking at the country's airports, attributed to attempts to smuggle money without authorization and in amounts exceeding the limits set by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC).

William Pérez González, the first deputy chief of the AGR, shared on social media platform X about the agency's efforts to combat a supposed increase in illicit currency trafficking. He stated that individuals are "trying to covertly extract funds using various methods that violate BCC's current regulations."

Through his account on the digital platform, Pérez posted photographs showing confiscated sums of money from travelers who allegedly attempted to take out amounts exceeding the limit of $5,000, euros, other freely convertible currencies (MLC), or Cuban pesos, as imposed by the BCC.

The images depict several rolls and bundles of dollars, high-denomination Cuban bills, and suitcase handles where the rolls of money were purportedly hidden. Nevertheless, Customs did not provide statistics on the total amount of money seized in recent controls to support the claim of an "increase in illegal currency trafficking."

In the first three months of 2024, the AGR confiscated 3.2 million Cuban pesos and $91,000 from travelers who attempted to take more than the allowed 5,000 pesos in any of those currencies out of the country. According to released statistics, there were 135 infractions in that quarter compared to 233 for the entire year of 2022, during which 5.3 million Cuban pesos and $420,000 were seized.

In March, the BCC raised the cash limit to 5,000 pesos (national currency) that travelers can carry when leaving the country while maintaining the 2020 resolution 124, which sets a 5,000 MLC limit for the free import and export of foreign currencies. Previously, the limit for the free export and import of Cuban pesos was 2,000 CUP, according to a 2019 resolution.

The new limit set in March for the national currency aimed, according to the Central Bank, to "facilitate the payment of customs duties for travelers returning to the country for the importation of goods and merchandise."

In February, the scandalous case of Cuban-American Mirtza Ocaña emerged. The then-38-year-old was arrested at Tampa International Airport after being found with $102,709 in cash, which she brought into the United States without declaring, following a trip to Cuba.

The indictment by the Tampa Prosecutor's Office states that between May 2023 and the date of her arrest, Ocaña made 45 trips to Cuba. She later denied having any links with former Econo...