Desperate for Dollars, Cuba Bars Businesses From US Banks

Cuba is banning its nascent class of entrepreneurs from using US bank accounts in a bid to keep dollars inside the island amid its worst economic crisis since the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Havana’s decision last week that all payments to international suppliers must be made through local banks was the latest in a series of measures against businesses that the communist regime blames for the nation’s rampant inflation, which hit 31% last year.

The crackdown on the private sector is unlikely to be a solution to food and fuel shortages that are feeding discontent among Cubans and have sparked rare ...