1. Cuba Update
Wow, Zynga has really exploded since they first launched Mafia Wars.
On Facebook alone, as of September 2009, Mafia Wars has more than
18.7 million monthly active accounts. Holy Cr*p!
With an expanding user base, there comes more updates to the game.
Cuba is the expansion where going to cover in this guide.
There core of the game has stayed the same. But now, there are new
jobs to beat -- items and collections for you to get.
To get into Cuba, you do have to be level 35 (or higher). If you’re
already that level or higher, you’re in for a treat. If you thought you
were hard, had tons of cash etc... You’re going to be even better now!
This Cuba guide will explain the basic information you need to be
Dominating Cuba as well as all the amazing tricks and tips I uncovered
when I beat this 

2. You Now Have New Money, What!?
Although the core game of Mafia Wars has stayed the same, one or two
things have changed slightly. Money is one example.
If you followed the main Mafia Wars guide, you will be rich as hell in
New York. (The first city you visited.)
One problem though...
That money is no good in Cuba. Yes, they went and added a new
currency to this game. Looks like they will add a new currency in every
expansion to be honest.
With that said, when you go to Cuba, you are going to be starting off
with no “Cuba Peso” so you’re going to have to earn it straight away.
Jobs in Cuba pay out money and experience like in New York, but this
time they also pay out something called “bribe money”. You will need
this later on in the game.
Money in Cuba is a little harder to get than in New York, so make sure
you keep it safe, and don’t spend it too quickly.
Here are my two steps to starting earning some Peso quickly.
1) Fighting – This is your first port of call. Fight some people to get
some quick cash. Because a lot of people are only just starting out
in Cuba, it’s much easier to win fights here as well.
Tip – When fighting, you are obviously sometimes going to get
hurt and will need to go to the hospital. Whatever you do, do NOT
go to the Cuba hospital. Instead, fly back to New York and heal
there. It will save your precious Peso ;)
2) Once you have done a few fights, go straight into purchasing and
levelling up your Cuba businesses. This way you will have some
autopilot Peso coming into your account.
Talking of businesses, let’s go over the big changes that have happened.
Then, I will go over all the new jobs, loot etc.

3. Businesses
One of the biggest differences in the Cuba update is that properties
have been updated with businesses. Good move in my opinion – its
more “mafia” like.
When you do purchase a business, you have the chance to upgrade
them. Each time you have enough cash, it’s important that you do this...
who would say no to more cash?
As long as you put your Cuba money straight into buying and growing
the businesses, you won’t have any money problems here. That said,
you most probably won’t see the sort of numbers you did in New York.
Another little change is the fact that you have to basically have pull out
the cash from your businesses. In New York, it would automatically get
sent to you.
How Do They Work?
In New York, properties would pay out every 54 minutes. In Cuba, you
have to wait a little bit longer... 2 hours longer. Every 3 hours, your
businesses allow you to go in and cash out.
They work passively, but if you go a week without playing, your
inventory will have filled up long ago. Meaning, there’s always a capacity
on your businesses, which you have to cash out before they will carry on
earning more money.
Also, something a little annoying... you can only purchase one of each
business. But, you can upgrade each business in 3 different ways:
Product Quality: Changes the item your business produces. Upgrading
this will increase the amount of profit you get per item you sell.
Upgrading this costs twice as much as upgrading the other attributes.
Capacity: Increases your storage capacity. The limit is 2280 units.
Upgrading this stat does not increase your maximum earning potential;
it simply allows you go to longer between selling your inventory. With a
fully upgraded output and capacity, your reserves will fill up once every

4. 24 hours. If you are not playing Mafia Wars all day long like the rest of
the world then go ahead and upgrade this right away. Otherwise focus
on the other two upgrades first.
Output: Increases the amount of product you produce every 3 hours.
For each upgrade point, this produces 20 more units every 3 hours. This
is increasable until the output reaches 280.
Business Types
There are only six different businesses that you can actually purchase in
Cuba. Unlike the 14 buildings you could buy in New York.
Unlike buildings, there is no way to maximise your earnings by investing
in certain businesses. Zynga kind of balanced businesses out in Cuba.
Each business is incrementally more expensive and produces the same
increment more of return.
Basically, just invest in whatever businesses you feel like. I would
recommend purchasing a business, and then upgrading it fully before
you move onto another one.
Here is a breakdown of each business.
Tobacco Plantation - Cost: 25,000 Pesos
Sale price of product: Starts at 400/100, ends at 800/100
Upgrade cost for Quality: Starts at 3,200. Increases 400 every level and
ends at 4400.
Upgrade cost for Capacity/Output: Starts at 1,600, increases 450 each
level and ends at 5,200 for the final upgrade.
Sugar Plantation - Cost: 50,000 Cuban Pesos
Sale price of product: Starts at 800/100, ends at 1,600/100
Upgrade cost for Quality: Starts at 6,400, increases 800 each level and
ends at 8800 for the final upgrade.
Upgrade cost for Capacity/Output: Starts at 3,200, increases 900 each
level and ends at 10,400 for the final upgrade.

5. Factory - Cost: 100,000 Cuban Pesos
Sale price of product: Starts at 1,600/100, ends at 3,200/100
Upgrade cost for Quality - Starts at 12,800, increases 1,600 each level
and ends at 17,600
Upgrade cost for Capacity/Output: Starts at 6,400, increases 1,800 each
level and ends at 20,800 for the final upgrade.
Coca Field - Cost: 250,000 Cuban Pesos
Sale price of product: Starts at 4,000/100, ends at 8,000/100
Upgrade cost for Quality: Starts at 32,000, increases 3,200 each level
and ends at 44000
Upgrade cost for Capacity/Output: Starts at 16,000, increases 4,500 with
each level and ends at 52,000 for the final upgrade
Bodega – Free (Your First Business)
Produces Canned Goods
Output: 200 Cuban pesos / 3 hours
Cannot be upgraded
Bribery Ring - Costs 75,000 Cuban Pesos to take over
Produces Politicos Corruptos
Cost to Upgrade Output: 15,000, 25,500, 43,300, 73,700 for final
upgrade.
Max Output: 5 politicos every 3 hours
Cost to Upgrade Capacity: 15,000, 25,500, 43,300, and 73,700 for final
upgrade.
Max Capacity: 10.
New Job Levels
Another update in the Cuba expansion is the new job levels for you to
beat. Here are the new job level brackets:
El Soldado Levels 35-39
El Capitan Levels 60-84
El Jefe Levels 85-109
El Patron Levels 110-129
El Padrino Levels 130+

6. Just like in New York each job has three tiers (level 1,2,3). Here are the
names of each tier.
Starter Tier - El Soldado
Level 1 – El Soldado
Level 2 – El Soldado Experto
Level 3 - El Soldado Principal
Try and level up each job to the max like in the main Mafia Wars, so that
you gain the max money and experience from each job that you do.
Loot Drops
Nothing has changed in Loot Drops. Like in New York, certain jobs give
items as an added reward. Some of these items are needed to do some
of the other jobs, but some of them are just bonus weapons/vehicles
that you can use to make yourself stronger.
The loot drops in Cuba are actually very important because of the
number of items needed to complete some of the jobs.
Here is a list of the loot drops:
El Soldado:
Intimidate the Locals - Street Gang Member
Smuggle in Some Supplies - Garza 9
Establish Contact with the FRG - RA-92
Assault a Snitch’s Hideout - Mara Serpiente
El Capitan:
Transport a Shipment of US Arms - M16A1
Meet with the FRG Leadership - Camouflage Body Armour
Ambush a Military Patrol - Chucho FAV
Capture an Army Outpost - RU-38
Ransack a Local Plantation - Cane Knife
Burn Down a Hacienda - Ocelot Armored Truck

7. El Jefe:
Shake Down a Hotel Owner - Montaine 300
Help the FRG Steal a Truckload of Weapons - Para 322
Pillage a Shipyard - Gaff Hook
Take Over the Docks - Cigarette Boat
El Patron:
Pass on Some Intel to the FRG - ASC 45 “Conquistador”
Sink a Competing Smugglers Ship - Mini Sub
Assassinate an Opposing Consigliere - Aquila HV .50 Sniper Rifle
El Padrino:
Raid the Arms Depot - TNT
Supply the FRG with Some Extra Muscle - Guerilla Squad
Capture the Airport - Si-14 Cargo Plane
Attack the Army Command Post - HU-9 Helicopter
Storm the Presidential Palace - Armored State Car
Cuban Collections
Collections are one of my favourite things in Mafia Wars. There’s nothing
better than finally completing a set of items. With Cuba, comes even
more collections for you to try and complete.
Just like in New York, collection items can drop randomly from doing
jobs of the specific tier. Basically, you can actually the items by doing the
same job over and over; all that is required is a bit of luck... and a lot of
patience sometimes!
Here is the list of the collections, the items needed to complete the
collection and the bonus you get for actually completing each one.
El Soldado Job Tier
Rum Drinks Collection
Reward: +8 energy
Items: Pina Colada, Hurricane, Bahama Mama, Mojito, Rum Runner,
Long Island Ice Tea, Cuba Libre

8. El Capitan Job Tier
Tropical Fruits Collection
Reward: +3 Stamina
Items: Banana, Lime, Pineapple, Papaya, Coconut, Passion Fruit, Dragon
Fruit
El Jefe Job Tier
Entertainers Collection
Reward: +10 Health
Items: Magician, Fan Dancer, Comedian, Band Leader, Cabaret Singer,
Crooner, Burlesque Dancer
El Patron Job Tier
Tropical Fish Collection
Reward: +5 Attack
Items: Pufferfish, Sergeant Major, Yellowtail Snapper, Great Barracuda,
Queen Angelfish, Reef Shark, Blue Martin
El Padrino Job Tier
Beards Collection
Reward: +7 Defense (also an achievement)
Items: Garibaldi, Hulihee, Vandyke, Mutton Chops, Soul Patch, French
Fork, Fidel.
Final Words
As you can see, Cuba wasn’t a massive update to Mafia Wars. It was
really just adding some new jobs and items for you to get. From what it
seems like, they also are trying to make money harder to get. In New
York, it was just too easy to be a gazillionare.
Cuba is still in BETA though, meaning that things can change anytime. If
anything new is added/changed. I will update this update guide.