The Cuban-American businessman Carlos Saladrigas, president of the Cuba Study Group, stated that a viable option for Cuba is to deeply integrate into the United States economy if it wants to survive as a nation. He made this remark in statements collected in a interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba during the analysis of the economic reforms announced by Miguel Díaz-Canel last Friday.
"Nowadays, a small country does not have many opportunities for success unless it integrates in a strong and intrinsic way with large economies," stated Saladrigas, who identified the European Union and the United States as the two major economies in the Western Hemisphere.
For Saladrigas, the conclusion is clear: "The United States is the logical and natural market for Cuba. There is no other."
The businessman clarified, however, that this integration does not entail a renunciation of Cuban sovereignty nor an exclusive trade relationship with Washington.
"That does not mean that our sovereignty should be violated or that we can only do business with Americans," he clarified, adding that if doing business with Europe is beneficial for Cuba, the country should have the freedom to do so.
Its central argument is that sovereignty and economic integration are not contradictory, but rather complementary. "Today, sovereignty is best defended with a strong economy than with a weak one, because a weak economy makes your country vulnerable, dependent, and insecure."
In the same exchange, journalist Tania Costa told Saladrigas that in a democracy, a government in Cuba's situation would have already been compelled to resign, pressured by the parliamentary opposition and its inability to pass initiatives in Congress.
Saladrigas responded that the problem is precisely this: if the Cuban regime were to resign or simply "evaporate," the result would be chaotic, because no one is prepared to take the reins of the country.
"The problem is that if they resign, what would be the outcome? It would be the same as if they evaporated, as happened in East Germany," he warned, recalling that in that case "the police suddenly take off their uniforms, burn them, dress in civilian clothes, and disappear into society."
Saladrigas emphasized that the Cuban system exacerbates that risk. "The Cuban system is a unitary system; it is not an open system where changes can occur in certain areas while the rest continues to function. It is very difficult."
In that scenario, the businessman pointed out that the only alternative to the power vacuum would be a military intervention, comparing it to the American occupation of Cuba in the early 20th century.
"A military intervention, where the situation is already completely different, like in the 1900s with the American military invasion of Cuba, which took control of power and there was a de facto governor in Cuba while changes were being made."
Carlos Saladrigas has granted this interview to CiberCuba, days after Díaz-Canel announced a package of economic reforms that includes municipal decentralization, opening up to the private sector, and facilitating investment by Cubans abroad, measures that still need to be approved by the Political Bureau and the National Assembly, scheduled for July 2026.
Saladrigas had warned in previous statements that there will be no serious investment in Cuba without a fundamental political change, a position he remains consistent with, stating that "our sovereignty must be respected and we, as Cubans, must demand that we are respected."
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