Target Cuba's Foreign Investors to Strengthen U.S. Policy on Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua

As the incoming Trump administration and Congress prepare to debate and shape U.S. foreign policy, recalibrating the approach to Cuba by targeting the foreign investors sustaining the regime’s economy offers a strategic pathway to weaken Havana’s influence and strengthen U.S. regional objectives.

As part of a comprehensive hemispheric policy, such an approach not only bolsters efforts to bring about change in Cuba but also strengthens broader U.S. objectives in dealing with other authoritarian regimes in the region, including Venezuela and Nicaragua.

For decades, Cuba’s communist regime has relied on foreign investors to sustain its economic lifeline. Countries like Spain, Canada, Russia, and China have played significant roles in Cuba’s economy through investments in tourism, mining, energy, and other sectors. Spanish hotel chains, Canadian mining firms, and Russian state-backed enterprises have poured resources into ventures that directly benefit the Cuban government, often operating on property confiscated from U.S. nationals or Cuban citizens.

These investments do more than enrich the Cuban regime; they provide crucial financial and logistical support, enabling, enabling Havana to offer intelligence, political backing, and even material aid to authoritarian governments in Venezuela and Nicaragua. This assistance helps these regimes maintain their grip on power and undermines efforts to promote democracy and stability in the region. Unfortunately, the Biden administration made it easier for these financial networks to penetrate the U.S. market by authorizing banking, investments albeit small ones, and targeting remittance flows to some of these illicit actors that prop up the regime.