The Cuban-American businessman Carlos Saladrigas, president of the Cuba Study Group, proposed on Monday the establishment of a National Unification Commission as a central mechanism for an orderly transition in Cuba, with the Holy See, a third country, or the United Nations as potential mediating entities.
The proposal emerged from his analysis of the economic reforms announced by Díaz-Canel last Friday, which Saladrigas deems insufficient for lacking depth and coordination, lacking a solid legal foundation, and failing to liberate Cuban civil society.
Saladrigas described the transitional process as a train with two types of changes. "There are economic changes, which are the locomotive, the one that goes ahead, and there are political changes, which we simplify for clarity, although everything is intertwined; everything is monopolistic."
Within these political changes, the businessman distinguished between what is urgent and what can wait. "What I was talking about is that there are things we need to defer, not postpone, defer, which are the aspects related to the formation of political parties and elections. Why? Because civil society first needs to open up and then organize itself."
This gradual opening and organization is, according to Saladrigas, what will eventually lead to genuine elections. "And that is what will then take us, in a few years, to a process where we will be able to have free, fair, and effective elections."
Regarding the constitutional reform, he described it as necessary but not immediate. "Without a doubt. That's a significant political change for them. It's a major political change that cannot happen immediately either."
In this context, Saladrigas proposed what he considers the first concrete step that the Cuban regime should announce. "One of the first things they need to announce is that they will create a commission, and what I would suggest is a commission that I would call a National Unification Commission made up of members of civil society."
The businessman was explicit about who should bear the main weight within that commission. "Those members of civil society must include some representation from the diaspora, and of course, a fundamental and primary representation from the Cubans living in the country because they are the ones who know the country. We have some knowledge of the country, but we do not live there nor do we experience the consequences of what we recommend and ask for."
When asked if he would be willing to join it himself, he replied that he would participate if it were decided, but emphasized that the key is in the leadership.
"I believe that in order for this to have credibility and provide the process with the trust the country needs... this commission should be led by a neutral entity. That neutral entity could be the Holy See, perhaps a third country, or even the United Nations."
The mention of the Vatican as a possible mediator has concrete precedents. Pope Francis discreetly facilitated the thaw between Cuba and the United States announced in December 2014. More recently, U.S. diplomats met with the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Richard Gallagher, to discuss the “important role” of the Church in Cuba, as reported by EFE agency in February 2026.
Saladrigas' proposal fits within his broader vision that Cuba needs profound and coordinated changes to avoid collapse, and that no transition process will be credible without structures that generate trust both within the island and in the international community.
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