Cuba has publicly invited Cuban Americans and other exiles to invest in and own businesses on the island, saying the “doors are open” to a diaspora long viewed with suspicion by Havana.
Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga, who also leads the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, told state television there were “no limitations” on participation by emigrants. He said the government is also removing obstacles to US and other foreign investors, while acknowledging that US law and the longstanding embargo still bar many kinds of trade and investment.
The announcement comes as Cuba grapples with a deep economic crisis that officials link to an effective oil blockade, sanctions and other external pressures. Authorities point to prolonged blackouts and shortages of fuel, food and medicine as consequences of the tightening measures. The move follows Havana’s confirmation that talks with Washington have begun; US officials have privately suggested they would pursue economic openings as part of any bilateral arrangements.
Allowing emigrants to invest is politically sensitive. Many in the exile community have supported strict measures against the Communist government, and until recently only Cubans living on the island were allowed to open and operate private businesses under reforms introduced in 2021. Nationals abroad remained excluded until this change.
Economist Paolo Spadoni of Augusta University described the shift as “pragmatic,” saying it could spur deeper US-Cuba economic ties and create opportunities for American firms, even though significant legal and political barriers remain. He added that the initiative might have seemed more credible if it had not been perceived as a response to intense US pressure.
Perez-Oliva Fraga said that, “depending on the scope of the business,” Cubans living abroad could “participate fully in the various areas of the country’s development.” He stressed the invitation was not limited to small ventures and that Havana is interested in larger projects, particularly in agriculture. Officials are examining models similar to arrangements in Vietnam, where companies operate under usufruct agreements while land remains state-owned.
Since 2021 more than 1 million people have left Cuba—the largest outflow since the 1959 revolution—representing a potential source of capital, skills and entrepreneurship that Havana has only recently begun to court.
The announcement arrives amid additional pressures: the US has cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatened tariffs on countries that sell fuel to Havana, intensifying strains on the island’s energy and investment climate. In recent weeks US President Donald Trump has publicly asserted strong leverage over Cuba, saying he expected to have the “honour” of “taking Cuba in some form” and asserting, “I can do anything I want.”