A Cuban identified as Ale on TikTok posted a video on Wednesday where he humorously and directly addresses the question that many of his followers ask him: what is needed to invest in Cuba? His answer is as brief as it is compelling: "a lot of courage."
"It takes a lot of courage to come and invest here in Cuba; you really have to be tough," affirms Ale in the clip that lasted just over a minute and has garnered more than 21,000 views in less than 24 hours.
In the video, the content creator lists four warnings for anyone considering investing money on the island. The first is precisely that courage which, according to him, borders on recklessness. The second is statistical: "you have almost a 90% chance of losing that money" if the investment is made in dollars.
The third warning targets specific sectors. Ale is straightforward: "If it's not food, transportation, or fuel, I don't think it will be profitable for you." Outside of those fields, in his view, the chances of a business succeeding in present-day Cuba are minimal.
The fourth and final warning is perhaps the most personal. Ale alerts those living abroad who leave their businesses in the hands of others: “you can’t trust anyone, you have to always keep an eye on your business.” He explains why with a phrase that many Cubans will recognize: “people here in Cuba spend money without you realizing it because there is a lot of need, and when people see easy money that didn’t cost them effort, it’s easy to spend.”
The video emerges at a time when the Cuban regime is attempting, with limited success, to attract capital from the diaspora. The Decree-Law 117/2026, approved in April and effective since May 5, created a special immigration status for Cubans residing abroad who wish to invest in sectors such as hospitality, energy, tourism, or food production. The procedure costs 3,500 Cuban pesos and is completed within 30 business days at the consulates.
The president Miguel Díaz-Canel even publicly called on emigrants to invest in and manage hotels in Cuba during an interview given on June 5 to the Spanish media elDiario. The diaspora's reaction was mostly skeptical and, in many cases, mocking.
Skepticism has solid foundations. The Resolution 6/2026, from March of this year, allows the Cuban state to immobilize assets without prior judicial process or notification. Cases such as that of entrepreneur Frank Cuspinera Medina—detained and with his assets confiscated—illustrate the real risks of operating in an environment where the legal framework is unstable and the regime can use the penal system as a tool for expropriation. Coupled with this is a GDP decline of 23% since 2019, chronic blackouts, and inflation that has driven the price of gasoline to exceed 4,000 Cuban pesos per liter.
Cuban-American entrepreneurs like Iván Herrera have ruled out buying properties or investing in the island due to the lack of guarantees, and Cuban-American writers have described doing so under the current conditions as "financial suicide."
Ale's video ends with a warning that summarizes everything stated before: "Be very careful with that, my people, always keep it in mind here."
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