Miami Cubans play with the limits of the US embargo to send goods to the island

María is Cuban and has been in Miami, Florida for four years. To send clothes and medicines to relatives in his native country, he goes to a parcel agency, a kind of omnipresent business in the city that knows how to play with the limits of the US embargo on Cuba.

The agencies have adapted to the measure imposed by Washington since February 1962. For prices that range between 2.5 and 5 dollars per pound (0.45 kg), they send to the Caribbean island -located 145 km south of Florida- all kinds of products.

In Miami, which is home to the largest Cuban community in the United States, many people like María turn to these places to provide essential support to their loved ones in Cuba, hit by its worst economic crisis in 30 years.

“I am happy to be able to help my parents and my brothers,” says this 33-year-old accountant, who has been in Florida for four years and feels sad about the situation in her country.

The holes of the embargo

The blockade, as the government in Havana calls it, authorizes the export of food and agricultural products from the United States to Cuba.

It also allows citizens to send items such as medicines, clothing and electronic devices once a month, as long as the amounts are adjusted to those of a gift between individuals.

Depending on the products and the delivery time, the agencies send the packages by sea or by air.

“The ships are the cheapest, but the items take at least three months to reach the recipient,” explains the manager of one of these establishments, Ana, who agreed to speak without giving her real name.

“By plane it takes about 45 days, although then it depends on the Cuban authorities,” he says.

Some shipping companies make regular shipments to Cuba directly from the United States. But others transit through third countries such as Mexico or Panama, a way to avoid the embargo.

“By doing so, these companies do not have the restrictions on what can be sent,” says John S. Kavulich, president of the Cuba-United States Economic and Trade Council. “They are cheaper because they have more activity and a greater variety of products available.”

the “mules”

Ana assures that her company does not resort to maritime transport through third countries and that, with respect to air shipments, it only does so through passenger airlines that accept to transport cargo on their planes.

He admits, however, that other agencies resort to “mules”, people who fly from the United States to Cuba carrying all kinds of items in their luggage, in exchange for money.

“A mule can bring a microwave for someone, clothes, prescription drugs, etc., and also money to Cuba,” explains Kavulich.

But the work of these “mules”, who also offer their services to individuals, goes beyond simple help between family members and can constitute a kind of parallel import channel in Cuba.

“They send washing machines, carburetors, tires, shampoos, dyes, nail polish” for business, Kavulich lists.

A practice with which the US authorities often turn a blind eye, says the expert, and that, in Cuba, can circumvent customs if the quantities do not suggest a commercial use of the products.

uneven access

For a few months, those who want to help their loved ones in Cuba have had another option than parcel agencies: online supermarkets that send purchases to homes on the island.

One of those best-known platforms is Katapulk, founded by Miami-based Cuban-American businessman Hugo Cancio.

In November 2021 alone, that thriving company sent some 83 tons of products to Cuba from Miami.

According to Kavulich, shipments of merchandise and money, whether by agencies, “mules” or online platforms, “widen the distance between those (in Cuba) who have access to friends and family and those who do not.”

“And politically they are a visible reminder of the failure of the Cuban government,” he says.