Cuba expects lower economic growth as exports, tourism drop

Cuba’s economic growth came in at around 1 percent, as exports and tourism have dropped, according to state-media, Reuters reports.

The country was forecasted to hit 2 percent and grew 1.8 percent last year, according to the news agency.

Economy and Planning Minister Alejandro Gil Fernandez reportedly said that the lowered GDP growth forecast was caused by “less than expected revenues from activities such as tourism, the harvest [sugar] and mining [nickel].”

{mosads}All three are central revenue sources for Cuba, according to Reuters. 

Gil reportedly said that austerity measures will continue into 2019.

They began in 2016 and include energy cuts for state companies and reduced imports of consumer goods and other inputs.

Under President Trump, the U.S. has tightened sanctions on Cuba that have been in place for over 50 years, but were loosened slightly under former President Obama. 

National security adviser John Bolton dubbed Cuba one of the three members of the “Troika of Tyranny” last Thursday.

“In Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, we see the perils of poisonous ideologies left unchecked, and the dangers of domination and suppression,” said Bolton said.

“The Troika of Tyranny in this Hemisphere — Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua — has finally met its match.”