Dollar back in Cuba as pandemic and US sanctions hammer economy

The communist government has been forced to allow citizens to spend US currency at special shops, formalising a split between haves and have-nots
On Paseo del Prado, a boulevard in Havana’s colonial district, dozens of people waited expectantly as the staff raised the shutters to open a tatty but revamped shop.
Soon after, Alejandro Domínguez, 23, emerged, brandishing meatballs and a giant tin of chopped tomatoes he had just bought with US currency left as tourist tips at his family’s restaurant. “This is a way to get products you can’t find elsewhere,” he said.
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