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The Cuban regime launched an institutional campaign to attract investments from the diaspora, detailing in official infographics the available modalities for Cubans living abroad to participate in the island's economy, including the possibility to invest in and manage hotels.
AnaTeresita González, Director General of Consular Affairs and Assistance to Cubans Residing Abroad (DGACCRE) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published on X the conditions of the scheme: "Cubans residing abroad can participate in various ways in the economic development of the nation. They can invest in prioritized sectors of the economy: food production, national industry, the energy sector, and territorial development. They can invest in and manage hotels. They can be partners or owners of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises."
The official mechanism states that interested parties must go to Cuban embassies abroad to present their projects, with subsequent "support" from the DGACCRE and other state organizations in Cuba.
The infographics disseminated by the Foreign Ministry also indicate that emigrants will be able to associate with both state entities and private actors in the Cuban economy.
The scheme also includes tariff incentives for the importation of raw materials and supplies deemed essential for industrial activity.
The announcement is not coincidental: it comes just days after Díaz-Canel stated in an interview with the Spanish medium elDiario.es that Cuba is open to allowing emigrants to invest in and manage hotels on the island.
The backdrop is an unprecedented hotel crisis caused by the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
The Executive Order 14404, signed on May 1, 2026, expanded the embargo to allow secondary sanctions against foreign companies that operated with GAESA, the military conglomerate that controls 70% of the Cuban economy, including its tourism infrastructure.
The deadline set by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) expired last Thursday, resulting in an exodus of international hotel chains: Blue Diamond Resorts left 62 hotels with more than 12,900 rooms since May 30; Iberostar ceased operations in 12 of its 18 hotels since June 1; Meliá stopped operating in 15 hotels since June 3; and Aston withdrew six properties at the beginning of the month.
The regime is now seeking for the diaspora to fill that void.
The legal framework for this scheme began to be established in March 2026, when Vice Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga announced that emigrants could invest and own private businesses in Cuba.
According to information released by the government, investments may be directed towards prioritized sectors such as food production, national industry, energy, and territorial development projects.
In April, the State Council approved Decree-Law 117/2026, which formally established the migration status of "Investors and Business" for Cubans residing abroad, officialized in the Official Gazette on May fifth.
The procedure costs 3,500 Cuban pesos and is processed at Cuban consulates abroad.
Critics point out structural obstacles that cast doubt on the real viability of the scheme: the absence of effective legal guarantees, institutional opacity, and the historic distrust of the exile community towards the Cuban state.
Moreover, Cuban residents in the United States —the largest concentration of the diaspora— face legal restrictions imposed by the embargo that prevent them from investing in the island without risking sanctions.
The government presents these measures as a way for Cubans living abroad to play an "active role in the Cuban economy" and directly contribute to the country's economic development.
The Economist Intelligence Unit projects a decline in Cuba's Gross Domestic Product of between 6.5% and 7.2% in 2026, in a context worsened since January by the interruption of Venezuelan crude oil shipments—around 70,000 barrels per day—following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro.
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