Situation Summery

The Cuban government announced on March 16 that Cuban citizens living abroad, particularly those in the United States, will now be permitted to invest in and own private sector businesses directly on the island. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, a great-nephew of Fidel and Raul Castro, confirmed the policy during a broadcast of the state television program Mesa Redonda and in an interview with NBC News. Perez-Oliva stated that Cuba is "open to having a fluid commercial relationship with American companies and also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants."

The reforms extend well beyond small-scale commerce. Havana is permitting diaspora Cubans to become partners or owners of private enterprises, invest in infrastructure, open foreign currency bank accounts, establish non-bank financial institutions, and receive land usufruct rights for food production. Priority sectors include tourism, mining, agriculture, energy, and banking. Healthcare, education, and defense remain excluded under state monopoly.

The legal foundation for these reforms is Decree-Law 114/2025, published in the Official Gazette on March 3 and set to take effect in early April. This decree authorizes, for the first time in nearly 60 years, the formation of joint ventures between state-owned and private entities, granting them business autonomy including the right to set wages, determine workforce size, and import and export directly.

Monroe Doctrine 2.0 SpecialREPORT