More recent Cuban emigrants<\/a> who have left the island (again overwhelmingly to the US) since the economic crisis of the 1990s, are generally less affluent and have less political clout. They have forged cross-border links with friends and family members who remain on the island. Through the remittances they send back, these people are now a vital source of foreign currency for Cuba.<\/p>\n The regime in Havana has traditionally maintained a disdainful attitude towards the Cuban diaspora. In the early waves of migration, Cuba\u2019s government officially referred to those<\/a> who emigrated as gusanos<\/em> (worms) \u2013 traitors aiming to overthrow the government. Expat investment in Cuba was subsequently banned.<\/p>\n But following recent negotiations with the US, this policy posture has changed significantly. After decades of restricting its relationship with the diaspora, the Cuban government announced<\/a> in March 2026 that it would allow Cuban emigrants residing in places like the US to return to the country, invest in the private sector and own businesses. <\/p>\n In an interview with NBC News on March 16, Cuba\u2019s minister of foreign trade and investment, Oscar P\u00e9rez-Oliva Fraga, said<\/a>: \u201cCuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with US companies and also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants.\u201d<\/p>\n The policy change comes as Cuba desperately attempts to rescue its devastated economy. A slew of economic and fuel embargoes imposed by the US government since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 have led to a severe crisis in the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many Cubans are struggling to find food, medicine and other essential goods, while severe energy shortages are causing periods of complete blackout across the nation. The situation has become so dire that, for the first time in six decades, sporadic protests have broken out<\/a> against the Cuban government. <\/p>\n In one of these protests, people in the central city of Mor\u00f3n ransacked a Communist Party headquarters. Videos on social media showed a group<\/a> of people approaching the building with flaming objects, shouting \u201cfreedom, freedom\u201d as they threw them inside.<\/p>\n The current state of affairs in Cuba has presented the US with an opportunity to orchestrate regime change \u2013 something it has sought for years. And proclamations by Trump and his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, suggest this may well be the US government\u2019s intention. <\/p>\n In comments made to reporters in March, Trump said he believes<\/a> he will have \u201cthe honour of taking Cuba\u201d. He added: \u201cWhether I free [Cuba], take it \u2013 I could do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth? They\u2019re a very weakened nation right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubio, who is the son of Cuban emigrants and has traditionally been hawkish about delivering regime change in Cuba, then declared<\/a>: \u201cWho\u2019s going to invest billions of dollars in a communist country run by incompetent communists? \u2026 Giving people economic and political freedom is important, but they come hand in hand. They come together.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite this rhetoric, many in Washington remain cautious about triggering an outright collapse of the regime. State collapse would almost certainly lead to an increase in the flow of Cuban refugees to the US \u2013 something the Trump administration wants to avoid.<\/p>\n While weakened, the regime in Havana remains in place. The extended Castro family still wields considerable power and influence in the country. The men leading the talks with the US, Fraga and Ra\u00fal Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, are two of Fidel Castro\u2019s great-nephews.<\/p>\n Cuba\u2019s president, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, has said he will not<\/a> resign under US pressure. He told NBC News on April 9 that \u201cthe concept of revolutionaries giving up and stepping down [is] not part of our vocabulary\u201d.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, later said that<\/a> Moscow, a longstanding ally of the regime in Havana, had no intention of abandoning Cuba.<\/p>\n Despite publicly calling for fundamental reform to the power structure in Havana, Washington\u2019s approach towards Cuba seems primarily aimed at using its leverage to encourage the regime to make concessions that diminish the island\u2019s value to US adversaries.<\/p>\nWashington\u2019s blessings<\/h2>\n
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