Decreto 160/2026

Decreto 160/2026 is the Cuban Council of Ministers decree that took effect on 4 August 2026, after publication in Gaceta Oficial No. 62 Ordinaria on 28 July. It repeals Decreto 107/2024 and rewrites the island's prohibited-activities list, striking 46 entries outright and loosening the terms of 35 more.

Its central change flips the regulatory default: unlisted private-sector activities are now presumed permitted rather than presumed prohibited, replacing the previous flat list of 125 banned activities. The decree also mandates a biennial review of the list. Four sectors sit outside that permitted-unless-listed structure altogether, carved out rather than merely retained on a prohibited list: education, medicine, mass media and trade unions. The decree follows a run of liberalising measures through 2026, including the 176-measure Reform passed by the National Assembly on 18 June, though no private-bank licence had yet been issued under that Reform as of early August.