{"id":294810,"date":"2024-01-18T09:18:34","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T14:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=294810"},"modified":"2024-01-18T13:35:45","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T18:35:45","slug":"cuban-entrepreneurs-to-cuban-americans-were-not-a-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/cuban-entrepreneurs-to-cuban-americans-were-not-a-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban Entrepreneurs to Cuban Americans: “We’re Not a Myth”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cuban economy is <\/span>suffering<\/span><\/a> its most acute crisis in 30 years, <\/span>reeling<\/span><\/a> from maximum-pressure U.S. sanctions imposed by Trump and mostly maintained by Biden.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the island’s nascent private companies, until recently prohibited, are <\/span>thriving<\/span><\/a>\u2014now on track to <\/span>employ<\/span><\/a> more people and import more goods than Cuba’s state sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

The news apparently hasn’t reached the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Rep. Mar\u00eda Elvira Salazar (R-FL), who will be holding a hearing on Thursday <\/span>entitled<\/span><\/a> “The Myth of the New Cuban Entrepreneurs.”<\/span><\/p>\n

A Miami-born Cuban-American known for her hardline positions on Cuba, Salazar is expected to interrogate two State Department officials, <\/span>Eric Jacobstein<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Enrique Roig<\/span><\/a>, on the Biden administration’s professed support for Cuba’s private businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Of course we\u2019re real. The idea that we\u2019re a myth makes no sense.” said Amel Herrera, CEO of Cuban e-commerce firm Acubamos. “Instead of debating our existence, they should be debating how after two years they still haven\u2019t passed any concrete measures or solutions for Cuba\u2019s private sector.”<\/span><\/p>\n

If Cuba’s entrepreneurs are not a myth, the Biden administration’s full-fledged support for them may be.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last September, Bloomberg <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that Biden was days away from announcing a packet of measures to empower Cuban entrepreneurs, a lynchpin of his Cuba policy. The administration was expected to lift restrictions on Cuba\u2019s private sector, allowing Cuban business owners to open and operate U.S. bank accounts from Cuba, authorizing \u201cU-turn\u201d transactions to Cuba through the U.S. financial system and permitting U.S.-based financial technology firms to serve users in Cuba.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four months later, Cuban entrepreneurs are still waiting. The Biden administration backed off the measures after being pressured by Salazar\u2019s ally, fellow Cuban-American hardliner Rep. Mario D\u00edaz-Balart (R-FL), a Congressional staffer <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> The Miami Herald.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>D\u00edaz-Balart is alleged to have used his leverage as chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations to cow the Biden administration into backtracking\u2014threatening to hold up other administration priorities, like aid to Ukraine, if the Cuba measures are passed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all got our hopes up about these new measures, especially after Trump\u2019s barrage of sanctions, but then nothing happened,\u201d said Cuban entrepreneur Ernesto Barrios G\u00f3mez, who owns private watch manufacturer Tiempo de Luz. \u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019re playing with us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trump administration <\/span>redesignated<\/span><\/a> Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, <\/span>implemented<\/span><\/a> broad restrictions on trade, travel and investment, and <\/span>sanctioned<\/span><\/a> Cuba\u2019s energy sources\u2014 contributing to a 10% <\/span>drop<\/span><\/a> in GDP, prolonged power <\/span>outages<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>scarcities<\/span><\/a> of basic foods.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCuban entrepreneurs need U.S. support now more than ever,\u201d said former Democratic congressman Joe Garcia, who has defended Cuba\u2019s <\/span>mipymes<\/span><\/i> (micro, small and medium-sized businesses), particularly in Florida. \u201cThe situation in Cuba is dire, and the budding private sector is providing what little hope there is left in Cuba.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n