The wealthy Cuban Americans ready and waiting for Havana to fall

Cuban-American exiles gathered at a Miami mansion to plot the future of a post‑Communist Cuba, convening the fourth meeting of the newly formed Cuban‑American National Chamber of Commerce (CANCC). Led by president Juan Omar Sixto, an octogenarian real‑estate developer who fled Cuba as a teenager, the assembly of wealthy families—many bearing historic surnames such as Bacardi and Babun—discussed concrete plans for “the day after” a regime change, including a Cuban stock exchange and committees on energy, infrastructure and food security. Sixto emphasized that the group’s objective is to be ready to do business in Cuba the moment the current government falls, leveraging contacts close to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and aligning with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

The meeting took place against a backdrop of limited economic liberalisation announced by President Miguel Díaz‑Canel, who lifted caps on private workers, allowed direct hiring and firing, and permitted multiple enterprise ownership, even by Cuban Americans. Attendees dismissed these reforms as superficial, insisting they would not invest while the regime remains in power. Analysts caution that such elaborate planning may be premature; University of Miami historian Mike Bustamante notes that high U.S. expectations for a rapid “day after” have been delayed, especially as the United States focuses on domestic mid‑term elections and ongoing foreign entanglements, leaving only a gradual “drip‑drip‑drip” of sanctions rather than a decisive intervention.

Despite the lack of comment from Havana, the CANCC’s activities have provoked criticism from Cuban revolutionaries who view the exiles—historically supportive of the U.S. embargo and fuel blockade—as paradoxically preparing to rebuild an island they helped impoverish. Agricultural specialist Hugo Orizondo argued that, while Cuba remains opaque, its investment potential is clear and that foreign capital and technology are essential for achieving food self‑sufficiency. The gathering underscores a growing confidence among affluent Cuban Americans that regime change is imminent, yet the precise form it will take—whether a U.S. military operation, a new economic pact, or another pathway—remains uncertain, leaving both investors and Cubans awaiting a decisive political inflection point.

⚡ Effects Interpreter