The Cuban-American architect Willy Bermello, founder of Bermello Ajamil & Partners, revealed that he leads an already organized private consortium to obtain the concessions for the eight main airports in Cuba once there is a regime change on the island.
Bermello described it as his most immediate dream, stating that after designing the Trump Presidential Library in Miami, "right now it is Cuba." He declared this in an interview with Tania Costa, where he detailed the structure of the consortium and the conditions that must be met to activate it.
"We have organized a preliminary consortium, it is like an alliance, where we have different pillars," the architect explained, noting that the group has been working quietly for several months.
The first pillar is a concession company for airports based in Buenos Aires, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and managing 58 airports worldwide. Alongside this company is a private equity fund described by Bermello as one of the three largest in the world, a construction subsidiary of a publicly traded firm where 25% of the owners are Cuban Americans, and an executive from American Airlines, the airline that operates the most from Miami.
The legal team includes attorney Nicolás Gutiérrez, a specialist in the Cuban Constitution of 1940 and in the mechanisms of property transfer in Cuba. They are also collaborating with individuals close to Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez, who has maintained a stance of maximum pressure on the regime and has publicly warned that investing in Cuba without political change is madness.
The plan includes obtaining long-term concessions for the eight terminals to finance the required investment. "Our idea is to secure long-term concessions, which is essential to repay the debt from the investment that would need to be made across the eight main airports in Cuba," Bermello emphasized.
The four priority airports are José Martí (Havana), Varadero, Holguín, and Cayo Coco. The other four are Manzanillo, Sierra Maestra, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey.
The immediate goal would be to allow U.S. airlines such as American, United, and Delta, along with international ones like Avianca, KLM, Alitalia, and Air France, to operate in all those destinations. Bermello described it as the initial spark for Cuba's economic reconstruction, followed by the rehabilitation and construction of hotels and housing.
However, the consortium will not take action until three conditions are met: a stable legal framework in Cuba, support from the United States government, and a change of regime. "We are already in serious discussions but without pulling the trigger. Why? Because change has not yet come to Cuba," he stated.
Architect Willy Bermello confirmed that he has already been notified by the State Department. "The idea is to make them aware that there is already an organized group regarding the airport issue that can move very quickly to enter and start making the necessary improvements."
Bermello, who arrived in Miami at the age of nine in 1960, hopes that post-transition Cuba will operate under the 1940 Constitution with amendments. His assessment of the present is clear: “Nowadays there is no justice, nowadays there are no laws. Nowadays, what exists is a plantation of the Castro brothers.”
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