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El Toque
OrganisationCU

El Toque

Cuban diaspora outlet whose daily informal USD-CUP rate index is the real-economy benchmark

El Toque's informal dollar-peso rate firmed to 660 CUP on 16 July 2026, the same day Havana raised cooking-gas prices 64 per cent, after a brief easing to 645 CUP in early July reversed a near-unbroken 2026 slide.

Last refreshed: 4 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Is Cuba's peso now in freefall, and what does the 568 CUP rate mean for ordinary households?

Timeline for El Toque

#13 4 Aug

Mentioned in: Decreto 160 flips Cuba's default to yes

Cuba Dispatch
#11 15 Jul

Logged the informal dollar at 660 CUP on 16 July

Cuba Dispatch: Cuba blames blockade for 64% gas rise
#8 15 Jun

Tracked informal USD/CUP reaching 670 pesos on 15 June

Cuba Dispatch: Tourism falls 55.8% as the peso slides
#6 4 Jun

Published informal USD/CUP rate of 600 pesos on 4 June

Cuba Dispatch: Informal dollar hits record 600 pesos
#6 3 Jun

Mentioned in: Visa, Mastercard cut off Cuban cards

Cuba Dispatch
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Background

El Toque is an independent Cuban digital media outlet founded by members of the Cuban diaspora, operating primarily from abroad rather than Havana. Its core product is a daily informal US dollar to Cuban peso exchange rate, derived from tracking peer-to-peer currency transactions on social media and messaging platforms, which has become the most widely cited reference point for Cuba's real exchange rate, consistently diverging sharply from the official CADECA rate.

The Cuban government dismisses El Toque as a counterrevolutionary outlet but cannot suppress the informal rate it tracks; most Cubans use the El Toque figure for practical transactions, and the diaspora relies on it to assess how much value actually arrives when remittances are converted. The outlet also covers Cuban politics and the economy more broadly, but the rate index is what makes it a reference point cited in US Treasury and State Department analyses of Cuban monetary dysfunction.

Key Issues
Peso depreciation

Its dollar rate resumed its slide

El Toque's tracker recorded a near-unbroken slide through the first half of 2026: from 510 CUP when CADECA's dollar-acceptance trial launched on 7 April, past 530 by late April and 568 by late May, to a 670-peso record on 15 June against collapsing tourism arrivals.

By 4 July the rate had eased to 645 CUP, suggesting a partial stabilisation rather than a confirmed reversal, before firming again to 660 CUP on 16 July, the day Havana's 64 per cent cooking-gas increase under Resolution 155/2026 gave the index a fresh inflationary signal to track. No formal-channel volume data from CADECA or Fincimex has challenged El Toque's figure as the de facto benchmark.

Common Questions
What is the Cuban peso exchange rate in mid-July 2026?
El Toque's informal tracker put the dollar at 660 CUP on 16 July 2026, up from 645 on 4 July, the same day the state raised bottled cooking-gas prices 64 per cent.Source: cuba-dispatch U11
Did Cuba's CADECA dollar reform work?
No. The El Toque informal rate rose from 510 to 530 CUP per dollar in the 18 days after CADECA launched dollar-cash acceptance on 7 April 2026, and continued rising to 568 by late May. No formal-channel volume data was published to indicate uptake.Source: Cuba Dispatch Updates 2-5
Why is the Cuban peso losing value so fast in 2026?
The peso has depreciated sharply due to a combination of fuel shortages, the failure of CADECA's dollar-acceptance trial to compress the informal spread, interrupted Venezuelan crude supply since November 2025, and continued bank de-risking pressure from US sanctions.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 3
How do Cubans send remittances from abroad?
Most remittance flows have moved from formal channels (Western Union, which is sanctioned) to informal banquero networks. The El Toque rate is what senders and recipients use to assess how much value arrives; CADECA's dollar-acceptance reform in April 2026 failed to shift this.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 2
What is El Toque Cuba?
El Toque is an independent Cuban diaspora media outlet known primarily for its daily informal USD-CUP exchange rate index, derived from tracking peer-to-peer transactions. Its rate has become the de facto benchmark for Cuba's real exchange rate.Source: Cuba Dispatch
Why does Cuba have two different exchange rates?
Cuba maintains an official rate through CADECA but cannot control informal peer-to-peer transactions. El Toque tracks the informal rate, which reflects actual supply and demand for hard currency. In April 2026 the gap was over 200 CUP per dollar, indicating that the CADECA reform trial had failed to close it.Source: event
What is El Toque's dollar rate for Cuba?
El Toque publishes a daily informal USD-CUP rate derived from peer-to-peer currency transactions. In April 2026 it stood at approximately 530 CUP per dollar, compared to the official CADECA test rate of around 310-320 CUP.Source: event
What was the Cuban peso to dollar rate in May 2026?
According to elToque's tracker, USD/CUP reached 540 by early May 2026, up from 530 on 22 April; EUR/CUP reached 618 and MLC spiked to 420 on 4 May before settling at 400.Source: elToque
Why is elToque blocked in Cuba?
The Cuban government blocks elToque on the domestic internet, characterising it as a foreign-funded destabilisation tool; on-island users access it via VPN. The state does not publish a comparable informal-rate figure.
Is elToque reliable for Cuban economic data?
elToque's exchange-rate tracker is the most consistently cited informal-rate source in Cuban economic reporting; wire services and academic economists use it as a primary reference. The outlet receives international funding and is blocked inside Cuba.
Source Material
El ToqueEl Toque