Juan Omar Sixto, president of the Cuban-American National Chamber of Commerce (CANCC), expresses his conviction that Cuba could achieve its liberation before the end of this year, a certainty that led him to establish, last April, a chamber of commerce in exile to channel massive investments towards the island as soon as a real political transition occurs.
In an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba, Sixto explained that about three months ago he became aware of something he had never felt before: “I have the impression that Cuba, for the first time in 67 years, is going to have a productive outcome of liberation.”
That conviction led him to contact Dr. Jorge Suárez Menéndez, a plastic surgeon and Cuban-American entrepreneur based in Miami, to propose the creation of a business meeting space.
The response was immediate: Suárez Menéndez offered his 1,400-square-meter seaside home—"it feels like you're in Havana," Sixto described—as the venue for the founding meetings, with one simple condition: "I provide the house, and you bring your friends."
Sixto clarified from the very beginning what profile he was looking for. "I would like to start the concept of business meetings with the most prominent companies, not the most prominent individuals from the exile." The outcome, as he himself acknowledged, exceeded expectations: "They are billionaires."
The CANCC brings together entrepreneurs of Cuban origin, many of whom are from Pinar del Río, with connections in sectors such as tobacco and furniture.
Sixto's personal story embodies the spirit of the organization. His father was the third tobacco producer in Pinar del Río, whose farm "Iviricu" was confiscated by Fidel Castro's regime in the 1960s and declared a Heritage of Cuba.
When Sixto returned to the Island in 2018, he found total devastation. "Of the 13 tobacco houses, the two tractors, the 500 cattle, and the mango fields, there was nothing left, Tania, nothing. Only a decaying house remained."
The chamber has already held two meetings and has a third scheduled for July 22. Its work plan spans three years and includes specific projects: the establishment of a stock exchange and commodities market in Havana, a finance institute to train stockbrokers, a mixed public-private health model, and a phased architectural and infrastructural reconstruction plan.
Sixto, who worked for three years at Merrill Lynch in New York, gathered on Wednesday between 10 and 15 entrepreneurs to begin designing that stock exchange in Havana.
All that capital, however, comes with a non-negotiable condition. The CANCC operates in compliance with Title II of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 and requires its members to only engage with private Cuban entrepreneurs who have no ties to the regime.
In light of the economic reforms announced by Miguel Díaz-Canel, which include opening up investment to the diaspora, Sixto was unequivocal: the CANCC sees them as mere bait without real guarantees.
The organization's stance was clearly established: “Until there is a transitional government, the Chamber of Commerce will not invest a single dollar. We will not set foot in Cuba”.
This rejection is framed within a broader context: according to expert Roberto Fernández Rizo, the political transition in Cuba began on January 3, 2026 with the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the DEA, which interrupted the supply of Venezuelan crude oil to the Island starting January 9 and worsened an energy crisis with power outages lasting over twenty hours daily.
Sixto estimates that the reconstruction of the country will require between 200 and 400 billion dollars, given the level of destruction accumulated after decades of dictatorship.
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