On January 18, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs held a hearing that opened with its chair, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (Rep., FL), delivering a speech entitled “The Myth of the New Cuban Entrepreneurs: An Analysis of the Biden Administration’s Cuba Policy.”[1]
Salazar said, “according to information she has, the growth of private enterprises in Cuba is a ‘scheme’ by the Cuban government to violate the U.S. embargo and that only the children of Cuban leaders have an easy path to own these businesses.” That comment was echoed by Rep. Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican, saying, “the Cuban military is embedded in every single business, so the concept of a private sector is almost non-existent in the country.”
At the end of the hearing, however, after hearing about the Biden Administration’s position discussed below, Salazar “seemed to have softened her initial stance, telling the State Department officials that Republicans are ‘on the same page.’ Apparently contradicting her early views, she asked, “How can we help this administration really help those small business owners in Cuba that have no contact or connection with the regime to open up a good store if they want or to own a privately owned business? What can we do together?”
The Biden Administration’s Position on Cuban Private Enterprise
Eric Jacobstein, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, testified at the hearing, “In an acute twist of irony, the island’s communist government must now rely on private enterprise to provide food and basic services for its people. We believe the organic expansion of the private sector on the island – led by the Cuban people themselves and not by any foreign government – is an opportunity that should not be wasted. Above all, we must encourage the freedom of Cuban citizens to define their economic future. Failing to engage and support Cuba’s private sector would leave space for Russia and the [People’s Republic of China] to shape the direction of the Cuban economy. We must not allow this to happen.”
Jacobstein added, “We believe the organic expansion of the private sector on the island – led by the Cuban people themselves and not by any foreign government – is an opportunity that should not be wasted. Above all, we must encourage the freedom of Cuban citizens to define their economic future. Failing to engage and support Cuba’s private sector would leave space for Russia and the [People’s Republic of China] to shape the direction of the Cuban economy. We must not allow this to happen.” Moreover, “the private businesses give some young Cubans reasons to stay on the island despite the challenges. . . . In an acute twist of irony, the island’s communist government must now rely on private enterprise to provide food and basic services for its people,”
Enrique Roig, the deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, said that “the Biden administration is not solely focused on supporting independent private entrepreneurs but also on improving the human-rights situation on the island. In particular, the administration has pushed for the release of about 1,000 political prisoners.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro (Dem, TX), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, said, the U.S. should support Cuban entrepreneurial efforts, not stifle them.” He added, “Our policies of the last 60 years have not resulted in the changes we would like to see; in some cases, they have even emboldened the Cuban government and strengthened their relationship with key adversaries like China and Russia. The United States can both recognize the threat that the Cuban regime poses to regional and national security while also engaging on key priorities and supporting the Cuban people’s efforts to further their own democratic aspirations.” This includes embracing “former President Barack Obama’s engagement policies, including removing Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism,” calling it ‘a baseless, extremely harmful designation.’
California Democrat Sydney Kamlager-Dove said that the denial that the Cuban private sector truly exists was a “conspiracy theory.”
Other Comments on Cuban Private Enterprises
Before the hearing, John Kavulich, the president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a Washington-based organization tracking business with Cuba, wrote in the Cubatrade blog, “The hearing premise is established on a falsehood” and that it is “wrong” to define those who have created and manage the private enterprises “as participants in a myth, as dupes of the government … rather than instruments of change. [The Cuban government] “does not embrace the re-emerging private sector. It’s tolerated. That should not mean the United States Congress should dismiss it. Or worse, work against it. “
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[1] Torres, Republicans and Democrats in Congress clash over the existence of the private sector in Cuba, Miami Herald (Jan. 18, 2024),
