A man pulls a portable shopping cart while carrying a bag filled with bread, in Havana Cuba, Monday, March 11, 2024. Many Cubans feel ill-equipped to handle their new, more unequal country, a feeling that has worsened as small private markets have opened, charging prices similar to international ones in a country that hasn’t allowed non-state commerce in recent decades and where incomes remain between $16 and $23 monthly. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
Shoppers gather round a cart of garlic at a street market in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 16, 2024. Without a functioning market economy, Cuban agriculture has long measured itself by socialist production goals that it has rarely been able to meet. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
Eggs, cigars, and diapers are displayed for sale at the entrance of a home, in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Almost half a million Cubans have gone to the U.S. over the last two years, with thousands more heading to Europe. The crisis has led to a dramatic reduction in the availability of rationed food for those who do not leave. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
Produce is displayed on a cart in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Without a functioning market economy, Cuban agriculture has long measured itself by socialist production goals that it has rarely been able to meet. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
A woman carries a carton of eggs, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 16, 2024. Almost half a million Cubans have gone to the U.S. over the last two years, with thousands more heading to Europe. The economic crisis has led to a dramatic reduction in the availability of rationed food for those who do not leave. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
Shoppers exit a state-run agro-market, where a mural of Fidel Castro adorns the facade, in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, March 7, 2024. Many Cubans feel ill-equipped to handle their new, more unequal country, a feeling that has worsened as small private markets have opened, charging prices similar to international ones in a country that hasn’t allowed non-state commerce in recent decades and where incomes remain between $16 and $23 monthly. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
Products are displayed on a shelf in a government subsidized store where goods can only be purchased with a government ration book known as a “libreta,” in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. The “libreta,” was launched in July 1963 and became one of the pillars of the island’s socialist system, helping people through crises including the cutbacks in Soviet aid that led to the 1990s deprivation known as the “Special Period.” (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
A vendor sells his produce from a cart, in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Without a functioning market economy, Cuban agriculture has long measured itself by socialist production goals that it has rarely been able to meet. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
María de los Ángeles Pozo, a retired school worker, poses for a photo in her kitchen with some of the subsidized food she receives through a government ration book known as a “libreta,” in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Pozo thinks back fondly to when a government ration book fed her family everything from hamburgers, fish and milk to chocolate and beer. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
A man holds his ration book known as a “libreta,” at a government-run store in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 16, 2024. The “libreta,” was launched in July 1963 and became one of the pillars of the island’s socialist system, helping people through crises including the cutbacks in Soviet aid that led to the 1990s deprivation known as the “Special Period.” (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
People wait their turns outside a state-run pharmacy in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Many Cubans feel ill-equipped to handle their new, more unequal country, a feeling that has worsened as small private markets have opened, charging prices similar to international ones in a country that hasn’t allowed non-state commerce in recent decades and where incomes remain between $16 and $23 monthly. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
A person drinks juice at a juice bar co-op, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 11, 2024. Almost half a million Cubans have gone to the U.S. over the last two years, with thousands more heading to Europe. The economic crisis has led to a dramatic reduction in the availability of rationed food for those who do not leave. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)