The Cuban regime attributed part of the challenges in advancing the economic reforms announced this year to the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and stated that the U.S. embargo constitutes "the greatest impediment" to developing the changes with which Havana aims to revitalize its economy.
The Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and Deputy Prime Minister, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, made those statements in an interview with Reuters, published this Tuesday.
Pérez-Oliva argued that Washington should ease the sanctions to allow economic reforms to progress more thoroughly.
"It is not our policy to prohibit U.S. companies from investing in Cuba, trading with Cuba, or conducting any type of business with Cuba," the official stated.
"The existence of the trade embargo is what prevents this possibility," he added.
The statements come after the Cuban government presented in June a package of 176 Economic and Social Transformations, described by the authorities as a broad reform of the economic model, with measures that include greater room for market mechanisms, private banking, foreign investment, partial dollarization, changes in the business system, and new powers for private actors.
According to Pérez-Oliva, the tightening of sanctions driven by Trump is precisely hindering the attraction of foreign capital needed for part of those transformations.
The official also criticized that Washington pressures foreign companies to reduce their ties with Cuba while, he claimed, facilitating certain operations of American companies.
"On one hand, international companies—Cuba's traditional partners around the world—are being threatened and urged to halt their economic and trade relations with our country," he said. "On the other hand, efforts are being made to promote the activities of American companies."
Pérez-Oliva cited as an example a U.S. policy that allows companies from that country to export fuel to the Cuban private sector, a measure he interpreted as an attempt to increase the island's economic dependence on the United States.
"The policy is aimed at forcing Cuba's economic dependency," stated the minister, who asserted that the country "will never again be a colony of any nation."
Washington offers a very different perspective on the economic problems of the island. Just last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the primary obstacle to attracting capital is the Cuban political and economic model itself.
No one will invest in Cuba under its current government model, Rubio stated, questioning the legal security for investors and the possibility that Cuban authorities may unilaterally change the terms of business.
The Secretary of State has also noted that Cuba can trade with countries other than the United States and attributed the limited foreign investment to the lack of guarantees, stability of regulations, and trust in Cuban institutions.
The positions of both governments clash as Havana claims to be rapidly advancing in the implementation of reforms.
This Monday, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz stated that 158 out of the 176 measures had already been implemented, equivalent to 89% of the package, and that they were supported by 197 legal norms.
Marrero acknowledged, however, that it is still necessary to verify the concrete results of the transformations in variables such as production, income, prices, and employment.
The package was approved in June and includes changes in 23 areas of the economy, including banking and finance, foreign investment, foreign trade, agriculture, energy, tourism, prices, and business ownership.
The Trump administration responded just days after the announcement of the reforms with new sanctions against entities linked to the Cuban state apparatus, maintaining pressure on financial, logistical, and mining sectors.
Pérez-Oliva also addressed the impact of these measures on foreign companies with interests in Cuban mining. Reuters noted that the Canadian Sherritt International suspended its direct participation in a nickel and cobalt joint venture following an executive order from Trump that threatened sanctions on businesses related to mining in Cuba.
The Australian Antilles Gold, linked to a copper and gold project on the island, is also evaluating its next steps, according to the official.
"Neither Antilles Gold nor Sherritt have withdrawn from Cuba," Pérez-Oliva asserted. "In light of these sanctions, these companies are exploring alternatives to determine how to continue their operations."
The minister denied, on the other hand, reports about alleged recent contacts between Havana and companies directly linked to Trump.
"I am not aware of any company directly connected to President Trump that has contacted Cuba," he stated, adding that neither he nor other Cuban officials had met with representatives of businesses linked to the U.S. leader.
Reuters recalled that business associates of Trump did visit Cuba in 2016 and held discussions with officials from the tourism sector regarding potential business opportunities.
Pérez-Oliva, 55 years old and the great-nephew of Fidel Castro—his maternal grandmother, Ángela Castro, was the sister of the former leader—also rejected claims that he is being groomed as a potential presidential successor.
"I have no aspirations in that regard," he said. "I am simply a public servant and will work wherever I am needed, without aspiring to any particular position."
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