On Monday, Cuba’s Communist Party unveiled a strategy aimed at increasing the involvement of Cubans living abroad in the national economy. This announcement sparked outrage among the Cuban exile community, which recalled the billions they lost when Fidel Castro seized power.
The Castro regime has faced turmoil since the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro by U.S. military forces on January 3, linked to numerous drug and terrorism charges. For years, Maduro’s administration provided Cuba with virtually free oil shipments, essential for supporting the country’s tourism sector. However, this did little to improve the severe poverty afflicting Cubans since the 1959 coup. Following Maduro’s arrest, Venezuela, along with Mexico, essentially stopped sending oil to Cuba, which has added to the challenge of electricity shortages and an aging power grid.
Amid ongoing daily power outages and surveillance, protests in Cuba have surged in recent weeks. Over the weekend, citizens in Moron, a city in Ciego de Ávila, confronted the local Communist Party headquarters, marking a series of nighttime protests that complicate efforts for national security personnel to identify those involved.
On Friday, the U.S. announced negotiations aimed at improving its historically tense relationship with state sponsors of terrorism, which seems to have encouraged many to take to the streets. Soon after, the Communist Party’s official newspaper reported new “measures” intended to attract investment from the Cuban diaspora, most of whom are exiles and their descendants. Many of these individuals carry stories of enduring forced labor, torture, or humiliation before managing to escape the island.
Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, a high-ranking official involved in foreign trade, mentioned these developments during an NBC News segment. He claimed the new policy would allow non-resident Cubans to invest in “private companies” in Cuba, which are nearly non-existent within the communist framework. Any so-called “private” businesses are either illegal or closely controlled by the Castro family and their associates.
Pérez-Oliva asserted that “Cuba’s doors are open” for American businesses and that the intent is to decentralize the economy further, promoting more foreign investment in the country’s development. He framed the ongoing U.S. embargo as the primary hindrance to this initiative, conveniently overlooking that, for decades, companies from other nations, including Canada, China, and Russia, have been free to invest in Cuba without U.S. interference, yet have largely chosen not to for various reasons linked to the regime’s inefficiencies.
The Castro family’s aim, as Pérez-Oliva expressed, is to engage Cubans living elsewhere, acknowledging their potential to help build a more prosperous and sustainable nation.
However, Pérez-Oliva failed to address the continuous persecution of Cubans, both on the island and abroad. Importantly, the regime does not even recognize American citizenship for Cuban-Americans, including those who have never set foot in Cuba.
The Cuban American community reacted negatively to the new measures, with the Cuban Resistance Congress (ARC) issuing a statement strongly rejecting any investment that could financially support a communist regime. They emphasized a need for real political change as a prerequisite for any investment aimed at fostering freedom and democracy in Cuba.
“The ARC sees this as a ploy by the Castro family to gain more time,” the release added, urging all Cubans to uphold the fight for freedom and avoid contributing to a tyranny that robs its citizens.
Orlando Gutiérrez Boronatto, ARC Secretary General, criticized the regime, calling the new policy “hopeless.” He argued that investment should be postponed until there is a genuinely free Cuba.
Ninoska Pérez Castellón, a prominent radio host in Miami, described the economic measures as “abominable,” likening them to inviting victims to invest in a failing mafia enterprise.
Ramon Saul Sánchez, leader of the anti-communist Democratic Movement, echoed this sentiment, suggesting that the community should distance itself from the regime and instead connect with the Cuban people themselves.
Cuban journalist Norges Rodríguez voiced that it’s essential to recognize the regime’s imminent end, supporting a call for a clear path back to reclaiming their homeland and possessions.
Miami-Dade Secretary Natalie Milian Orbis reflected on the extensive theft perpetrated by Fidel Castro since the 1959 takeover, reminding everyone that the current regime has never returned what it confiscated from families across the board, including her own.
As reported on Monday by Bloomberg News, Cuba owes roughly $9 billion for properties taken from American and Cuban-American families during Castro’s regime, with those funds entangled in numerous lawsuits involving major corporations like ExxonMobil. The Castro government has shown no inclination to compensate for these losses.
